Philosophy

Colloquium Talk with Dr. Babak M. Khoshroo

Lovejoy Library 3rd Floor Conference Room

Friday, September 20, 2024 | 1:30 - 3:30 PM

We sometimes hear musical pieces or passages as expressive of emotions; for example, when we hear a piece or passage of music as sad, happy, or melancholy. But how should we explain this? Considering that musical entities are not psychological beings and cannot be in emotional states, how should we explain hearing musical emotions? One view is that music can be expressive by arousing emotions in the listener (the arousal view). This view has been criticized more recently by those who consider expressiveness to be a property of musical entities rather than any feeling experienced by the listener (the cognitivist view). In this talk, I defend the arousal viewpoint. I argue that at the core of hearing musical emotions is how the listener’s mind forms the continuity of musical experience out of perceiving the relational qualities among musical elements (tones, chords, etc.). Experiencing the continuity of music sometimes has phenomenological similarities to the feeling component of emotional experiences, and it is based on such phenomenological similarities that we hear musical emotions. I will also explain how my theory can incorporate the cultural aspects of musical expression better than the rival theories, particularly those in the cognitivist camp.