Introduction to a Philosophy of Music


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Philosophy of music has flourished in the last thirty years, with great advances made in the understanding of the nature of music and its aesthetics. Peter Kivy has been at the center of this flourishing, and now offers his personal introduction to philosophy of music, a clear and lively explanation of how he sees the most important and interesting philosophical issues relating to music. Anyone interested in music will find this a stimulating introduction to some fascinating questions and ideas.Introduction to a Philosophy of Music Review
Coming from the prospective of one with undergraduate degrees in both music and philosophy I was very eager to flip through this book. It certainly is an introduction: (1) Kivy assumes the reader to have little or no background in either music or philosophy, (2) Kivy aims for breadth rather then depth (not to say there isn't depth), and (3) the overall level of difficulty, in terms of comprehension, is fairly minimal. This is certainly a kind of book I would recommend to someone as a first reading...even one who has had much experience in each of the areas (philosophy and music) seperately. The book has suggestions for further reading for those so motivated. Not that I am sufficiently knowledgable for one to place much credence in the following, but I agreed with a majority of the arguments Kivy professed to be in-line with (where I felt the most disagreement was with extended formulist's argument that music contains no representation of emotions. Kivy considers some opposing arguments but it seems to me there is more to chew on. I have a feeling though that the distance between the two ideas could be brought closer together with a more detailed account of what emotions are).Four stars instead of five for two reasons: (1) I would hesitate to give an introductory work in any field five stars and (2) there were certain stylistic aspects of the writing that put me off slightly (a small matter of taste and not by any means a substancial criticism).
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