Type of Submission
Podium Presentation
Keywords
Music philosophy, ethos, moral formation
Abstract
Our choice of music defines what we become. Adults often perceive the musical listening habits of the young as extreme, excusing them because they perceive their choice of music as simply another aspect of their rebellion against authority or society. However, this connection between character, interests, lifestyle, and the music of choice should be extended to include people of every age. Small children and adults are just as affected by the music to which they listen. My purpose in writing this paper was to find evidence for a connection between the music we hear and the people we become. I was especially interested in what ancient scholars such as Augustine, Plato, and other Greek philosophers thought on the issue. I examined twenty books and articles ranging from the ancient Greeks and their views on music to contemporary authors discussing music and its relationship to psychology or humanism. My research indicated that the notion that music changes its listeners is nothing new, but that the correlation between music and moral formation has an ancient history. Even scholars as far back as Plato discussed what sorts of music were appropriate for the young in order to make them into proper members of society. Cultural and political movements rarely happen without music playing a key role in motivating and uniting a group of people into a powerful unit, and the church has certainly utilized the emotional and influential aspects of music in its traditions. This paper examines historical evidence for music as a character-forming force, and discusses how this fact should impact our musical listening choices.
Faculty Sponsor or Advisor’s Name
Dr. Sandra Yang
Campus Venue
Dixon Ministry Center, Recital Hall
Location
Cedarville, OH
Start Date
4-16-2014 2:20 PM
End Date
4-16-2014 2:40 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
You Are What You Hear - The Formative Powers of Music
Cedarville, OH
Our choice of music defines what we become. Adults often perceive the musical listening habits of the young as extreme, excusing them because they perceive their choice of music as simply another aspect of their rebellion against authority or society. However, this connection between character, interests, lifestyle, and the music of choice should be extended to include people of every age. Small children and adults are just as affected by the music to which they listen. My purpose in writing this paper was to find evidence for a connection between the music we hear and the people we become. I was especially interested in what ancient scholars such as Augustine, Plato, and other Greek philosophers thought on the issue. I examined twenty books and articles ranging from the ancient Greeks and their views on music to contemporary authors discussing music and its relationship to psychology or humanism. My research indicated that the notion that music changes its listeners is nothing new, but that the correlation between music and moral formation has an ancient history. Even scholars as far back as Plato discussed what sorts of music were appropriate for the young in order to make them into proper members of society. Cultural and political movements rarely happen without music playing a key role in motivating and uniting a group of people into a powerful unit, and the church has certainly utilized the emotional and influential aspects of music in its traditions. This paper examines historical evidence for music as a character-forming force, and discusses how this fact should impact our musical listening choices.
