| Description |
xi, 417 p. ; 25 cm. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 381-403) and index. |
| Contents |
Music and language: Conditions for language-type meaning; Theories of Cooke and Meyer; Types of meaning; Natural versus non-natural meaning; Examples of meaning D in music -- 2. Music and pictures: Necessary conditions for pictorial depiction; Argument against musical representation -- 3. Music and symbols: Langer's theory: presentatioinal symbols; Pratt's theory of musical expression; Goodman's theory: exemplification symbols; Metaphor 4. Feelings of the composer and the listener: Expression theory; Arousal theory -- 5. Expression of emotion in music: Emotions expressed in music are sui generis; Hanslick: emotions are not expressed in music; Emotion charcteristics in appearances; Expression of emotion in music; Musical expressiveness and the value of music -- 6. Response to music's expressiveness: Problematic cases; Cognitivism; Replies to cognitivism; Why would we listen to music if it makes us feel sad? -- 7. Musical understanding: Sound of music and the noise it makes; How music is like a person; Relevance of history and style. |
| Summary |
We talk not only of enjoying music, but of understanding it. Music is often taken to have expressive import--and in that sense to have meaning. But what does music mean, and how does it mean? Stephen Davies addresses these questions in this sophisticated and knowledgeable overview of current theories in the philosophy of music. Reviewing and criticizing the aesthetic positions of recent years, he offers a spirited explanation of his own position. - Publisher. |
| Subject |
Music -- Philosophy and aesthetics.
|
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Music -- Psychological aspects.
|
| ISBN |
0801481511 (paper : acid-free paper) |
|
9780801481512 (paper : acid-free paper) |
|
0801429307 (cloth : acid-free paper) |
|
9780801429309 (cloth : acid-free paper) |
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