Mita Philosophical Society Lecture: "Geist" as Sound—Rethinking "Modernity" through Music, Part 1: Passion and Reason

April 17, 2018

Lecture Overview

"Western modernity" in the history of philosophy and thought can be seen as having its foundations laid by Immanuel Kant and reaching its zenith with G.W.F. Hegel of German Idealism. Inheriting and further developing Kant's rigorous thinking on how "experience" by "consciousness" is possible and what kind of situation it entails, Hegel came to perceive our reality as a series of processes in which "Geist" (spirit) manifests itself. Ludwig van Beethoven, born in the same year as Hegel, developed Western music of the same period as "thought in sound," opening up entirely new dimensions for both the forms of thought and the possibilities of musical expression.

With these two figures as the main axes of reference, this series will feature various related philosophers, thinkers, and composers under a different theme each time. A philosopher and a performer will attempt to approach, from their respective viewpoints, the cultural background of philosophical and intellectual thought surrounding the musical works, as well as the intrinsic content of the individual works themselves. The ultimate goal of this endeavor is to reconsider what kind of era "modernity" was and what we in the present should inherit from it. The ten-part lecture series is scheduled to include themes such as "The Power of Sorrow," "The Cross in Music," "The Philosophy of Music," and "The Fluctuation between Life and Death." This first installment, under the title "Passion and Reason," will feature the following three works.

Mozart: Piano Sonata in A minor, K. 310

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, op. 57, "Appassionata"

Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, op. 5