Of Mind and Music

Building on the idea, first articulated by Susanne Langer, that passages of music symbolize emotions and other conscious states, Addis advances an entirely new account of the nature of this representation. He maintains that the unique bond joining music and feelings is based on a previously unnoticed affinity between consciousness and sound. He also provides an extended discussion of Freud's theory of dream symbolism, to show how unconscious awareness plays a critical role in our experience of music. Addis, a philosopher who has been a composer and who also plays orchestral double bass, closes with reflections on the current state of classical music and on the sentiments aroused by music as distinguished from those depicted by it. Combining a scholar's insight with a musician's sensibility, he makes an engaging and convincing statement that will help readers comprehend music's importance in human affairs.

Laird Addis is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Iowa