The Healing Power of Music
“Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.”- Ludwig van Beethoven
For centuries, philosophers have tried to show that science and technology will replace subjectivity and relativity in our thinking and decision-making process.
If we take a look at the index of The Story of Philosophy: A Concise Introduction to the World’s Greatest Thinkers and Their Ideas by Bryan Magee, one can see the path great philosophers have taken from the Antique Greeks to the Christian scholastics during the Middle Ages, followed by the initial discoveries of the modern sciences, the emergence of Rationalism in continental Europe and Empiricism in the UK, to end with the revolutionary thinkers of the French Revolution.
Most notable thinkers during the initial stages of science development include contributions from Bacon, Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot. One has to wait until the XIX century and the golden age of German philosophy to identify the minds that influenced our thinking: Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Freud.
Contributions made during the modern era lead us to conclude that science and technology have yet to and probably will not solve the most fundamental problem of our time: the search for truth and objectivity.
Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophy is considered by many the last pillar of idealism and the first of the post-modern era. His most famous book, The World as Will and Representation, came out at a time when Friedrich Hegel enjoyed great acceptance. Hegel is considered the last of pure idealistic thought. Students rushed to enroll in his classes, leaving no space for Schopenheur lessons.
At the end of his career, Schopenhauer wrote a book, Parerga and Paralipomena, containing a collection of philosophical essays in an aphorism format, much criticized by academics because of its accessible style, which finally brought well-deserved recognition to his author.
Schopenhauer's hypothesis, later sustained by Freud, is that passion and needs, or, in his own words, will, govern our minds by an unconscious and unlimited cycle of new desires and needs resulting in pain and suffering. Nietzsche, who considered Schopenhauer his master, later developed his theory. Both wrote their most recognized books in aphorism, which influenced writers and plastic artists of our time. They also agreed that only through art is it possible to escape those paradigms and access a different reality than one based on the will or other questioned paradigms.
Among the different art manifestations, Schopenhauer preferred music in its capacity to bypass the never-ending cycle of suffering created by our will and desires, offering us temporary relief in our lives. Another great artist, Ludwig van Beethoven, expressed the contribution of music in the following quote:
Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. Ludwig van Beethoven
There are similar experiences where time becomes irrelevant, such as walking outdoors, contemplating nature, and even playing. However, listening to music has become more familiar and accessible, even when traveling.
My preference in music style is classical, and my experience in listening, letting my expectations and desires aside, is on the baroque rather than the romantic of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Brahms because I experience a more emotional ride with the latter. On the contrary, when listening to Bach, Handel, and even Mozart, I feel transported to a more peaceful environment. I also enjoy watching opera, where music, acting, singing, and even dancing are mixed, but this is probably a more complex experience.
It is a personal choice, and everyone should feel free to choose any style of music from contemporary styles, such as pop, jazz, alternative, or even rock, country, electronic, and rap.
I leave you with a link on YouTube to a memorable performance by Montserrat Caballet, a late Spanish soprano, singing Casta Diva in Pucini’s opera Norma, played in the Arena of Orange, France, in 1974:
