Philosophy and music

An ironic reminder of music's central role in many aspects of life in modernity was given not long ago by the report that ‘music’ had – albeit only temporarily – replaced ‘sex’ as the word used most often in Internet searches. The likelihood of ‘philosophy’ becoming the most popular word in Internet searches is, of course, pretty remote. This rather crude sign of the difference in the contemporary importance of these two elements of modern culture can also be read as an indication of a deeper issue. Why this is so can be suggested by the difference between two moments in the changing relationship between philosophy and music in modernity. The heroic period of modern philosophy in Europe epitomised by Kant's claims on behalf of self-legislation in opposition to obedience to traditional authority is contemporaneous with the development of the new ‘autonomous’ music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, as well as with the emergence of new ideas concerning music's connection to philosophy. Professional philosophy, particularly in the Anglo-American world today, has, in contrast, tended to become a more and more specialised academic activity with little direct bearing either on people's attitudes to or on the conduct of their lives. The idea that academic philosophy might now have a fundamental connection to music is, moreover, almost inconceivable in many areas. Music itself, on the other hand, has continued, in albeit sometimes problematic ways, to be a central feature of the everyday lives of people in modern societies.

One of the aims of this book is to show both that some recent directions in philosophy offer ways of re-establishing connections to music and that this is important for the future direction of philosophy.