The limits of vision

This chapter discusses arguments about the primacy of vision that have characterized modern Western history of thought. It does so to introduce two complementary counter-arguments: on the one hand, vision is not always the first privileged recognized sense for apprehending the world; on the other hand, the access to the world is most often not reduced to one sense but is built on multiple senses, or multisensoriality. This book highlights the importance of considering blind and visually impaired people for a critical understanding of a society which is de facto built on the primacy of vision; this chapter considers situations in which sighted people cannot rely on vision, encountering the limits of their own vision. By examining empirical cases illustrating various configurations in which vision is not available, possible, or transparent, the chapter revisits the hierarchy of the senses and the primacy of vision, respecifying them as a members’ phenomenon.