The Hidden Dimension

(Edward T. Hall). A discussion of book on human behavior in relation to time & space. Analyzes Hall’s theory that people of different cultures speak different languages & inhabit different sensory worlds.

People in relation to their environment is a topic that is currently being studied with much concern by sociologists, anthropologists, and biologists. How people are affecting the environment and how the environment in turn affects people is of significant importance. No less important is how people affect people in their everyday personal contact. Dr. Edward Hall, an anthropologist, has looked closely into the above topics and describes the many aspects of biological, psychological, and cultural characteristics which dictate behavior in relation to time and space. Proxemics (Hall’s term for the inter-related observations and theories of use of space as a specialized elaboration of culture) is the main concern of Hall’s book, The Hidden Dimension. Hall points out that people of different cultures not only speak different languages but inhabit different sensory worlds.