Why Philosophy
Thursday, May 07 • 09:00 AM
Music doesn’t bake bread, build buildings or save
lives. Music is entirely unessential to survival. In
some extremes it is unessential to comfort living. So
why study music? Why practice it? Why listen to it at
all? Because life for us isn’t meant solely for
survival.
Survival is the first part to life. It is the most crucial part. Without it we would be... well, dead. Survival is 25% instinct, 25% social influence and support, and 50% learned. It involves only those things needed to survive: food, shelter, procreation, etc. The other part to life is comfort. The vast majority of innovations in the past century is to bring comfort. It is the entire reason for design. Survival and comfort build off each other. So what does this have to do with philosophy?
After we have acquired food and clothing we now realize we like sweet fruit and soft hide better than bitter bugs and coarse wood. Why? We can discuss how our bodies adopted to like certain chemical combinations. But, it still would not answer the question. It would not explain comfort, only survival. Inquiry into why we need comfort is inquiry into the mind, thought.
Philosophy is the study of thought. It is inquiry into the whys of comfort. It has come from treatises on why we are here and what that means to very specific definitions and equations for reason. Music has developed from church bells and sacred music whose purpose is to teach to exploring human emotion. Music and philosophy does not grow food or build buildings, etc. But those artisans do influence those architects and scientists and politicians to making improvements and discoveries that not only help our survival, but increase our comfort. Those thinkers keep us open to new and impossible probabilities.
A person that has never heard music when listening to a Chopin Nocturn may simply sound like noise. Likewise, philosophy (and law, science and other disciplines) have developed its own language that sounds meaningless to everyone else. To the non-musician, not knowing what a sonata is will not change the way they live. Just as not defining existence and what that means will not change the fact that the non-philosopher is typing on a keyboard.
Why study the stars? They are too far away; there is nothing we can do about anything that happens that far away. Yet, this curiosity brought us telescopes and satellites. Why study sound and music? Why study thought? We are too curious for our own good. I am a believer that nothing is wasted. Inquiry into anything and everything that piques our interest can bring positive results. We are a moving species. Discussing where the music starts (the ear or they key) can lead to showmanship. Take the drummer that wears only a beaded skirt and wild face paint and ferociously hits the tom toms. Where does the music start? With the eyes or the sound? What if that drummer was in a tux and performed very formally? You must agree that the music is different because of the visual aspect.
Inquiry into thought, study of philosophy, opens up more avenues of creativity. Without it I am certain our lives would not be nearly as satisfied and nearly as progressed as it is today.
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Survival is the first part to life. It is the most crucial part. Without it we would be... well, dead. Survival is 25% instinct, 25% social influence and support, and 50% learned. It involves only those things needed to survive: food, shelter, procreation, etc. The other part to life is comfort. The vast majority of innovations in the past century is to bring comfort. It is the entire reason for design. Survival and comfort build off each other. So what does this have to do with philosophy?
After we have acquired food and clothing we now realize we like sweet fruit and soft hide better than bitter bugs and coarse wood. Why? We can discuss how our bodies adopted to like certain chemical combinations. But, it still would not answer the question. It would not explain comfort, only survival. Inquiry into why we need comfort is inquiry into the mind, thought.
Philosophy is the study of thought. It is inquiry into the whys of comfort. It has come from treatises on why we are here and what that means to very specific definitions and equations for reason. Music has developed from church bells and sacred music whose purpose is to teach to exploring human emotion. Music and philosophy does not grow food or build buildings, etc. But those artisans do influence those architects and scientists and politicians to making improvements and discoveries that not only help our survival, but increase our comfort. Those thinkers keep us open to new and impossible probabilities.
A person that has never heard music when listening to a Chopin Nocturn may simply sound like noise. Likewise, philosophy (and law, science and other disciplines) have developed its own language that sounds meaningless to everyone else. To the non-musician, not knowing what a sonata is will not change the way they live. Just as not defining existence and what that means will not change the fact that the non-philosopher is typing on a keyboard.
Why study the stars? They are too far away; there is nothing we can do about anything that happens that far away. Yet, this curiosity brought us telescopes and satellites. Why study sound and music? Why study thought? We are too curious for our own good. I am a believer that nothing is wasted. Inquiry into anything and everything that piques our interest can bring positive results. We are a moving species. Discussing where the music starts (the ear or they key) can lead to showmanship. Take the drummer that wears only a beaded skirt and wild face paint and ferociously hits the tom toms. Where does the music start? With the eyes or the sound? What if that drummer was in a tux and performed very formally? You must agree that the music is different because of the visual aspect.
Inquiry into thought, study of philosophy, opens up more avenues of creativity. Without it I am certain our lives would not be nearly as satisfied and nearly as progressed as it is today.
blog comments powered by Disqus