Mortals are educated to believe that their happiness and enjoyment of life are, in a large measure, dependent on the five physical senses. The faculty of hearing, for instance, is considered necessary in order that mortals may more easily conduct their daily affairs, quickly communicate with their friends, and be aware of essential sounds. Unfortunately this faculty is deemed to be dependent on material organs of hearing, with the painful consequence that such things as accident, heredity, and the passing of time are given power to impair or even destroy that means of communication and so affect one's enjoyment and harmony.
One of the fundamental teachings of Christian Science is the falsity of the evidence of the five physical senses. The unreliability of the material faculty of hearing is evident even according to physical science. For example, there are sounds which are perceptible to certain animals but not to mankind, and vice versa. And the great musician, Beethoven, was able to hear mentally and compose music even after he became deaf.
The apparent mystery of the physical faculties is clarified in the light of Christian Science. On page 213 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy writes: "Sound is a mental impression made on mortal belief. The ear does not really hear. Divine Science reveals sound as communicated through the senses of Soul—through spiritual understanding."
