Imagination, Music, and the Emotions: A Philosophical Study

Description

Articulates an imaginationist solution to the question of how purely instrumental music can be perceived by a listener as having emotional content. Both musicians and laypersons can perceive purely instrumental music without words or an associated story or program as expressing emotions such as happiness and sadness. But how? In this book, Saam Trivedi discusses and critiques the leading philosophical approaches to this question, including formalism, metaphorism, expression theories, arousalism, resemblance theories, and persona theories. Finding these to be inadequate, he advocates an “imaginationist” solution, by which absolute music is not really or literally sad but is only imagined to be so in a variety of ways. In particular, he argues that we as listeners animate the music ourselves, imaginatively projecting life and mental states onto it. Bolstering his argument with empirical data from studies in neuroscience, psychology, and cognitive science, Trivedi also addresses and explores larger philosophical questions such as the nature of emotions, metaphors, and imagination. Contents Introduction Chapter I: Emotions, Moods, and Feelings I.1. Introduction I.2. What are Emotions? I.3. Emotions, Beliefs, and Moods I.4. Other Views: Martha Nussbaum’s Neo-Stoic Cognitivism I.5. Paul Griffiths’s Theory I.6. Jesse Prinz’s Somatic View I.7. A Concluding Concession Chapter II: Expression Theories and Arousalism II.1. Introduction II.2. Bruce Vermazen’s Expression Theory II.3. Jerrold Levinson’s Persona Theory II.4. Jenefer Robinson’s Theory II.5. Contra Simple Arousalism II.6. Aaron Ridley’s Moderate Arousalism II.7. Derek Matravers’s Moderate Arousalism II.8. Charles Nussbaum’s View II.9. Conclusion Chapter III: Metaphors and Metaphorism III.1. Introduction III.2. Against Metaphorism (Part 1) III.3. Metaphorical Meaning and Paraphraseability III.4. Against Metaphorism (Part 2) III.5. Metaphors, Resemblance, and Imagination III.6. Against Metaphorism (Part 3) III.7. Conclusion Chapter IV: Resemblance-Based Theories IV.1. Introduction IV.2. Resemblance-Based Views IV.3. Criticisms IV.4. Objections and Replies IV.5. Conclusion Chapter V: Imagination V.1. Introduction: Different Kinds of Imaginings V.2. Imaginative Perceptions and Perceptual Imaginings V.3. Children’s Imaginings V.4. Gregory Currie’s View V.5. Imagination, Music Perception, and Musical Culture V.6. Conclusion Chapter VI: Imaginationism VI.1. Introduction VI.2. Against Formalism about Music VI.3. How We Imagine in Relation to Music VI.4. Why We Imagine in Relation to Music VI.5. Musical Arousal VI.6. Objections and Replies VI.7. Conclusion Summary and Conclusion Notes References Index