An Introduction to the Philosophy of Music

2019/05/15

Not a day goes by without listening to music. While the "hit songs everyone knows" playing on street corners have disappeared, anyone can now easily find music to their liking from all over the world on the internet. Even those who don't have a habit of listening to music will likely hear background music from TV, radio, supermarkets, restaurants, or smartphone games, unless they are living in seclusion in the mountains.

Music is closely intertwined with human life. That is why music is an important theme for philosophy, which seeks to understand what it means to be human. Not only in Western philosophy starting from ancient Greece, but also in Eastern philosophy originating from Confucianism and Hinduism, philosophers have long spoken about music. Not just philosophers, but musicians and music lovers alike probably have their own firm opinions on the matter.

However, precisely because it is a subject many people want to comment on, there are many discourses regarding music that are ambiguous or incorrect. Furthermore, such discourses can sometimes distort the listening experience itself. According to Gracyk, the purpose of this book is to prevent readers from falling into such errors by reconsidering music once again.

The themes of each chapter are: what is the difference between mere sound and music (Chapter 1), what knowledge is necessary for appreciation (Chapter 2), what is emotional expression through music (Chapter 3), and how does music provide a mystical experience (Chapter 4). Anyone who loves music must have wondered about these issues at least once. Additionally, this book conducts a wide-ranging investigation using diverse examples such as classical, rock, jazz, Indian classical music, and folk music from Papua New Guinea.

It should be noted that one should not blindly accept the views in this book. The purpose of this book is to examine and discuss various discourses and provide material for a better understanding of music. Many "philosophy" books on the market give the impression of saying something deep while being completely incomprehensible. However, philosophy is an endeavor that clarifies arguments through repeated discussion, rather than escaping into an inscrutable "depth."

This book is both an introduction to the "philosophy of music" and an introduction to "philosophy" using music as its subject. I hope that through this book, you will come into contact with philosophical debate.

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Music

Theodore Gracyk (Author), Toru Genka (Co-translator)

Keio University Press

208 pages, 2,500 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.