"The more one listens to ordinary conversations the more apparent it becomes that the reasoning faculties of the brain take little part in the direction of the vocal organs"
About this Quote
E.R. Burroughs lands a clean, almost zoological insult: talk is reflex, not thought. The line works because it pretends to be a neutral observation - “the more one listens” has the tone of field research - while smuggling in a savage verdict about social life. “Ordinary conversations” isn’t just small talk; it’s the default hum of community, the place where people perform belonging. Burroughs implies that most of that performance is motor activity: the “vocal organs” driving ahead while the “reasoning faculties” ride shotgun, if they’re in the car at all.
The subtext is a writer’s impatience with speech as friction. Burroughs built entire worlds on clear, propulsive prose, where cause and effect matter and dialogue advances action. Against that standard, real-life conversation looks like noise: repetition, status-signaling, ritual complaint, ready-made opinions. His phrasing makes it anatomical, as if the mouth has its own agenda. That dehumanizing edge is the joke and the warning: people aren’t lying; they’re barely steering.
Context matters. Burroughs wrote through the rise of mass newspapers, advertising, and early broadcast culture - eras that professionalized “talk” and taught audiences to mimic slogans, catchphrases, and moral certainties. The quote anticipates a modern anxiety: speech gets cheaper as channels multiply, and thinking doesn’t scale at the same rate. It’s not just miscommunication he’s mocking; it’s the unsettling ease with which sound substitutes for judgment.
The subtext is a writer’s impatience with speech as friction. Burroughs built entire worlds on clear, propulsive prose, where cause and effect matter and dialogue advances action. Against that standard, real-life conversation looks like noise: repetition, status-signaling, ritual complaint, ready-made opinions. His phrasing makes it anatomical, as if the mouth has its own agenda. That dehumanizing edge is the joke and the warning: people aren’t lying; they’re barely steering.
Context matters. Burroughs wrote through the rise of mass newspapers, advertising, and early broadcast culture - eras that professionalized “talk” and taught audiences to mimic slogans, catchphrases, and moral certainties. The quote anticipates a modern anxiety: speech gets cheaper as channels multiply, and thinking doesn’t scale at the same rate. It’s not just miscommunication he’s mocking; it’s the unsettling ease with which sound substitutes for judgment.
Quote Details
| Topic | Reason & Logic |
|---|
More Quotes by Edgar
Add to List
