PHILOSOPHY IN MUSIC: A PHILOSOCPHICAL DISCUSSION PROVING HOW

MUSIC IS GROUNDED ON THE FOUR CONDITIONS OF PHILOSOPHY

By:
Paula Benilde D. Dungo

A Philosophical Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Subject
Philosophy 113

Department of Philosophy
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy
University of the Philippines Diliman
Quezon City

December 2018
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………… 1
A. Four Conditions of Philosophy……………………………………………………….. 2
A.1. Love………………………………………………………………………………… 2
A.2. Politics……………………………………………………………………………… 4
A.3. Mathematics……………………………………………………………………….... 4
A.4. Art……………………...…………………………………………………………… 5
B. Definitions of Music.…………………………………………………………………. 6
C. Music: Grounded on the Four Conditions of Philosophy…………………………….. 7
C.1. Love………………………………………………………………………………… 7
C.2. Politics………………………………………………………………………………. 8
C.3. Mathematics………………………………………………………………………… 8
C.4. Art…………………………………………………………………………………... 9
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...... 10
References……………………………………………………………………………….. 12
Introduction

This paper aims to demonstrate how music is grounded on the four conditions of

philosophy namely, love, politics, math, and art. It aims to further discuss the four conditions

by elaborating on how they are exemplified in music

The paper starts by first discussing how the four conditions were introduced to

philosophy. This will be discussed according to Alain Badiou’s work, “Conditions”. In his

work, it discusses how the four conditions are truth procedures, how they produce truths, and

philosophy’s aim in capturing these truths.

Because this paper will be proving, how music is grounded in each of the four

conditions of philosophy, it is first necessary to define these four conditions. Many

philosophers have attempted to define these conditions in their works. An analysis of several

of these philosopher’s attempts should be done next, in order to establish a definition for each

of the conditions.

After defining each of the four conditions of philosophy, the next step is defining

what music is. Because there are several definitions for music, these definitions will be

analyzed according to how they relate to the definitions of the four conditions of philosophy.

After surveying the different definitions of music, analyzing these definitions in

relation to the established definition of each of the four conditions of philosophy is the last

step in proving how music is grounded on these four conditions.

Proving music is grounded on the four conditions of philosophy is possible by first

discussing how the four conditions were introduced to philosophy and establishing a

definition of these four conditions, and then surveying the different definitions of music, and

lastly analyzing these definitions in relation to the already established definition of the four

conditions.

1
A. Four Conditions of Philosophy

The four conditions, were first introduced to philosophy by Alain Badiou in his book

entitled “Conditions”, which is a collection of companion essays. This work of Badiou was

originally published in France in 1992.

The essays in the “Conditions” are based on various lectures and papers that were

written or presented in the years following the publication of another work of Badiou. “The

core idea that links all the essays together, however disparate their topics, is conveyed by the

title of the collection. Conditions for Badiou are the four types of ‘truth procedure’ that

provide the material for philosophy, which itself produces no truths. Badiou argues, or rather,

states that there are four conditions: science (in particular, mathematics), art (in particular, the

poem), politics (in particular, a politics of emancipation) and love.”1

According to Alain Badiou in his work “Conditions”, the four conditions namely love,

math, politics, and art are truth procedures. This means that these four conditions produce

truths. He points out that it is philosophy’s aim to capture these truths from the four

conditions.2

A.1. Love

Many Philosophers have attempted to define love. Some of these philosophers are

Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, and Schopenhauer. Generally love is defined as an inclination

toward one person or an object that is considered good.3

The symposium is one of the most influential and main works that discusses love in

all of western literature. It is a dialogue, with characters each having their own definition of

1
Conditions // Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews // University of Notre Dame.
Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/conditions/
2
Badiou, Alain, and Steve Corcoran. Conditions. London: Bloomsbury Academic, an
Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017.
3
Tim. "Definition of Love: Philosophy." Philosophy & Philosophers. February 15, 2013.
Accessed November 11, 2018. https://www.the-philosophy.com/definition-love-
philosophy.

2
love. In the end Plato comes to a conclusion that love is “Any general aspiration towards the

good things and to happiness, that’s the Love.”4

Descartes is also one of the most famous philosophers who discussed love in his

works. He says in his account of love in his “Passions of the Soul” that love is “a passion that

can arise in us without in any way we could see if the object that causes it is good or bad. ”5

Spinoza critiqued Descartes work and said that “Love is nothing but a joy

accompanied by an external cause.”6 He disagrees on the aspect in Descartes’ definition that

love is a passion that can cause bad.

Lastly Schopenhauer discusses that love is defined as “a trap for men to perpetuate the

species”7 in his “Metaphysics of Love” claiming that it is the universal human impulse to

procreate.

A.2. Politics

The word Politics comes from the greek words “Polis” meaning community, and

“Poli” meaning many. Politics can generally be defined as laws, methods, and practices of a

specific group of people who make decisions. Among many philosophers who have defined

politics, Aristotle, Plato, Hobbes, and Hume, are some the most prominent.

Plato discusses politics in the “Republic”. In the Republic, Plato says that “Societies

aren't made of sticks and stones, but of men whose individual characters, by turning the scale

one way or another, determine the direction of the whole.”

4
Simpson, David. "The Symposium." Comedy and Tragedy. Accessed December 12,
2018. https://condor.depaul.edu/dsimpson/tlove/symposium.html.
5
Frigo, Alberto. "A Very Obscure Definition: Descartes’s Account of Love in ThePassions
of the Souland Its Scholastic Background." British Journal for the History of Philosophy
24, no. 6 (2016): 1097-116. doi:10.1080/09608788.2016.1192021.
6
Boros, Gá bor, and H. De Dijn. The Concept of Love in 17th and 18th Century
Philosophy. Leuven: Universitaire Pers Leuven, 2017.
7
"Schopenhauer on Love." Philosophy on LiveJournal. Accessed December 12, 2018.
https://philosophy.livejournal.com/1999762.html.

3
 Aristotle, who is a student of Plato, discusses his definition of politics in his own

work entitled “Politics”. He says that “It is clear that those constitutions which aim at the

common good are right, as being in accord with absolute justice; while those which aim only

at the good of the rulers are wrong.”

Aside from these philosophers from ancient Greece, contemporary philosophers such

as Hobbes and Hume have also given a definition for politics. Thomas Hobbes defines

politics in his work “Leviathan”. He sees the society as a giant machine that is always in

motion.

Hume on the other hand states in his work “Enquiries Concerning Human

Understanding” that “denying a divine existence, and consequently a providence and a future

state, seem to loosen, in a great measure, the ties of morality, and may be supposed, for that

reason, pernicious to the peace of civil society.”8

A.3. Math

There are many great thinkers who have defined mathematics. Some of these

philosophers are Ruessell, Desartes, and Poincare. Mathematics as defined in philosophy is

giving a name to a certain object or the chief source of truth in a sensible world.

Russell said “Mathematics is, I believe, the chief source of the belief in eternal and

exact truth, as well as a sensible intelligible world.” He claims that mathematics, and

mathematical objects are eternal, and do not exist in time.9

Rene Descartes also defined mathematics in his own terms. He said that

“Mathematics is a more powerful instrument of knowledge than any other that has been

bequeathed to us by human agency.”10

8
Source for whole section: "Philosophy On Love of Wisdom from Truth & Reality."
Aristotle Metaphysics Philosophy: Metaphysics of Space and Motion Explains
Philosopher Aristotle's Metaphysics, Physics. Accessed November 13, 2018.
https://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Politics-Globalisation.htm.
9
Hersh, Reuben. What Is Mathematics, Really? New York: Oxford University Press.

4
 Another contemporary philosopher who defined mathematics is Henri Poincare. In an

interview elaborated by Ferdinand Verhulst, he said that “Mathematics is the art of giving the

same name to different things.”11

A.4. Art

Art is given many definitions and is seen by different thinkers in different ways. But

the most common way philosophers define art is that it is a medium for self-expression and

interpretation. Some of the philosophers who talked about art were Badiou, Heidegger, and

Nietzsche.

Badiou defines art as “the process of a truth, and this truth is always the truth of the

sensible or sensual, the sensible qua sensible. This means the transformation of the sensible

into a happening of the Idea.”12 It is somewhat the product of an idea.

Heidegger sees art in a more cultural way. For him “art either manifests, articulates or

reconfigures the style of a culture from within the world of that culture. In this sense, art is

capable of revealing someone else’s world and producing a shared understanding.”13

Lastly, Nietzsche sees art as sort of a coping mechanism in living in the world. He

sees art as making sense of the world and human existence. He says that, “art is essentially

the affirmation, the blessing, and the deification of existence.”14

10
"Descartes." Science and Philosophy. Accessed December 12, 2018.
https://sciphilos.info/docs_pages/docs_Descartes_css.html.
11
"An Interview with Henri Poincare´ Mathematics Is the Art of Giving the Same Name
to Different Things." Interview by Ferdinand Verhulst. November 3, 2012. Accessed
December 12, 2018. http://www.nieuwarchief.nl/serie5/pdf/naw5-2012-13-3-154.pdf.
12
"Alain Badiou // Fifteen Theses on Contemporary Art – Chtodelat.org." Chtodelat.org.
September 16, 2013. Accessed December 12, 2018. https://chtodelat.org/b8-
newspapers/12-69/fifteen-theses-on-contemporary-art/.
13
Martinique, Alena. "What Is Art According to Famous Thinkers Through History."
Widewalls. June 13, 2016. Accessed December 12, 2018.
https://www.widewalls.ch/what-is-art/.
14
Martinique, Alena. "What Is Art According to Famous Thinkers Through History."
Widewalls. June 13, 2016. Accessed December 12, 2018.
https://www.widewalls.ch/what-is-art/.

5
B. Definitions of Music

In order to analyze how music is grounded on the four conditions of philosophy, its

definition should first be established. However, there are many definitions of music. Jerrold

Levisnson and Andrew Kania are two contemporary philosophers who discuss what music is.

For Levinson, music is “sounds temporally organized by a person for the purpose of

enriching or intensifying experience through active engagement (e.g., listening, dancing,

performing) with the sounds regarded primarily, or in significant measure, as sounds”15

Andrew Kania proposed his own definition of music saying “Music is (1) any event

intentionally produced or organized (2) to be heard, and (3) either (a) to have some basic

musical features, such as pitch or rhythm, or (b) to be listened to for such features.” 16. Music

also has operational, socio-historical, and structural definitions.

Music can be defined as part of culture. Sociologist Stuart Hall on the other hand sees

music as a matter of both ethics and aesthetics, he says that "[Musical] identity is mobile, a

process not a thing, a becoming not a being" but at the same time, "Our experience of music

is best understood as an experience.”17

Music is also defined through the distinction between noise and music. It is seen in

the effect of the sound to the listener. Music is defined as an art which arranges and combines

sounds to produce frequencies that result into harmonious melodies, it is pleasing to the ears

and has soothing effects, Noise on the other hand is unwanted sound that is usually

meaningless, it has an unpleasant sound with an irregular wave length and frequencies, it

obstructs and confuses messages towards man or animals when communicating.18

15
Davies, Stephen. "On Defining Music." Monist 95, no. 4 (2012): 535-55.
doi:10.5840/monist201295427.
16
Davies, Stephen. "On Defining Music." Monist 95, no. 4 (2012): 535-55.
doi:10.5840/monist201295427.
17
Stuart, H. (n.d.). Questions of Cultural Identity. Sage Publications.

6
 Lastly, some theorists define music as having elements of the sound it produces. This

is seen in the musical scores composers write, where they use different symbols to represent

each element. The elements of music are namely pitch, rhythm, melody, timbre, dynamics,

texture, and collage.19

C. Music: Grounded on the Four Conditions of Philosophy

After establishing the definition of the four conditions of philosophy and of music, the

next step is discussing how music is grounded on the four conditions. This is why there is

already philosophy of music. Philosophy of music is defined as “the study of fundamental

questions about the nature and value of music and our experience of it… Music plays a

central role in many people’s lives…not only can most people quickly grasp the

philosophical questions music raises, they tend to have thought about some of those questions

before encountering the academic discipline itself.”20

C.1. Love

Love is exemplified in music because music is a medium for expressing it. Music’s

effect to the listener should be pleasing and soothing. In creating or playing music, there is an

aspiration towards something good. Making, and listening to music makes people happy.

Some people are also born with a passion for music. There is a passion and a joy

caused by music. Thus this means music causes love. In fact, “In contemporary religious

ceremonies, in popular song lyrics, in midnight confessions, in wedding vows--in short,

18
M, E. (2011, May 31). Difference Between. Retrieved from
http://www.differencebetween.net/science/nature/difference-between-noise-and-
music/
19
Elements of Music. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://accounts.smccd.edu/mecklerd/mus250/elements.htm
20
Kania, A. (2017, July 11). The Philosophy of Music. Retrieved from
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/music/

7
anywhere one encounters the notion of a truly undying and eternal love, the words of

Diotima, Socrates, and the other figures of The Symposium can still be heard.”21

C.2. Politics

Music is also exemplified in politics. It is exemplified in politics because music is a

part of culture, and it plays a part in the society. Music can be used as a tool to unite

individuals of a society together for a certain cause.

Music is a part of culture, therefore music can be used as a tool for creative cultural

resistance. “Creative cultural resistance is a mode of artistic expression that voices opposition

to or criticism of certain political, economic, social… circumstances in a community.” 22

Likewise music is heard and used in political agendas such as elections to influence the

decision of the community. National anthems and battle hymns are proof of this. In some

societies, drums are used in warfare.

C.3. Mathematics

Music is measurable. It can be broken down into parts, and cut down into its elements.

Music always follows a certain count, this is called the time signature, where the whole piece

should have the same counts in each of its measures. A musical piece also has a varied

arrangement of pitches that make the melody of a song. These counts and pitches are

exemplified through different notes placed in different lines or spaces in a scale.

The elements of music are proof that it is quantifiable and rooted on mathematics. The

different symbols of the different musical elements seen in a composition serve as a

representation of the sensible world, such as the time signature, which represents the beat, the

rests, which represent the silent parts in music, and the dynamics which represents how

21
Simpson, David. "The Symposium." Comedy and Tragedy. Accessed December 12,
2018. https://condor.depaul.edu/dsimpson/tlove/symposium.html.
22
. New Tactics in Human Rights (n.d). Retrieved from
https://www.newtactics.org/conversation/cultural-resistance-atrs-protest

8
loudly or softly one plays music. These symbols serve as the representation of the sound one

hears in music.

C.4. Art

The manifestation of art in music is seen with the combination of the evidences that

music is rooted in the other three conditions of philosophy. Art is the transformation of an

idea into the sensible, while also being a medium for self-expression and interpretation.

Music is seen in art, like how it is seen in love and in politics. It is a medium of self-

expression used to expression people’s emotions including love, and also is open to people’s

different interpretations like how it is used to influence people’s and the society’s decisions in

politics.

Music is also seen in art, like how it is seen in mathematics. As art is the

transformation of an idea into the sensible, the idea, is found in the mind of the composer,

and then is transformed into the sensible, which is the sound, through representing the idea

with different symbols, in order to be interpreted to create the sound. The composer has an

idea, emotion, or thought in his mind, which he translates into sound.

All of the evidences that point to the three conditions namely, love, politics, and

mathematics, being exemplified in music, also point to the last condition, art, being

exemplified in it as well. Music is a result of the transformation of an idea into the sensible

world, and is a medium for self-expression and interpretation.

9
Conclusion

It can be proved that music is grounded on the four conditions of philosophy, by

defining each of these of conditions, and then relating these, to the different given definitions

of music.

The four conditions are defined in many different ways by several philosophers. The

first condition, love was attempted to be defined by some philosophers such as Plato,

Descartes, Spinoza and Schopenhauer. Generally, love is defined as an inclination of one

person toward another person or an object, which they consider good.

The next condition politics is also defined in various ways. Philosophers like Plato,

Aristotle, Hobbes, and Hume have their own definition of what politics is. In general, politics

is defined as the laws, methods and practices of a certain decision- making group or

community.

Math was and still is a popular topic when it comes to philosophy. Great thinkers like

Russell, Descartes and Poincare have talked about and defined mathematics. Mathematics as

defined by philosophers is giving a name to a certain object or the chief source of truth in a

sensible world.

Different philosophers wrote about art. Among the many philosophers, some of the

most prominent are Badiou, Heidegger, and Nietzsche. Generally, art is defined as a medium

for self-expression and interpretation.

Music is grounded on love because music is used to convey emotion. It is seen in both

the lyrics and melody of a composition how the composer shows his inclination to another

person or to an object.

Music is grounded on politics because it can be and is used as a tool in popular

political protest. Music is part of culture, therefore music can be used as a tool for Creative

10
cultural resistance. Likewise music is heard and used in political agendas to influence the

decision of the community.

There is math in music because music is very structured in its elements. Music is

quantifiable and can be measured. Many figures symbolize certain elements like the

dynamics, pitch, and tempo of the music.

Lastly, how art is grounded on music is seen with music’s effect to the listener. Music

must have an effect to the listener, but it is up to listener on how he interprets the music. It is

also seen how it is seen as an experience, where it shows how music is a medium for self-

expression.

11
References

"Alain Badiou // Fifteen Theses on Contemporary Art – Chtodelat.org." Chtodelat.org.

September 16, 2013. Accessed December 12, 2018. https://chtodelat.org/b8-
newspapers/12-69/fifteen-theses-on-contemporary-art/.

"An Interview with Henri Poincare´ Mathematics Is the Art of Giving the Same Name to
Different Things." Interview by Ferdinand Verhulst. November 3, 2012. Accessed
December 12, 2018. http://www.nieuwarchief.nl/serie5/pdf/naw5-2012-13-3-154.pdf.

Badiou, Alain, and Steve Corcoran. Conditions. London: Bloomsbury Academic, an Imprint
of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017.

Boros, Gábor, and H. De Dijn. The Concept of Love in 17th and 18th Century Philosophy.
Leuven: Universitaire Pers Leuven, 2017.

Conditions // Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews // University of Notre Dame. Retrieved

December 11, 2018, from https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/conditions/

Davies, Stephen. "On Defining Music." Monist 95, no. 4 (2012): 535-55.
doi:10.5840/monist201295427.

"Descartes." Science and Philosophy. Accessed December 12, 2018.

https://sciphilos.info/docs_pages/docs_Descartes_css.html.

Elements of Music. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://accounts.smccd.edu/mecklerd/mus250/elements.htm

Frigo, Alberto. "A Very Obscure Definition: Descartes’s Account of Love in ThePassions of
the Souland Its Scholastic Background." British Journal for the History of Philosophy
24, no. 6 (2016): 1097-116. doi:10.1080/09608788.2016.1192021.

Hersh, Reuben. What Is Mathematics, Really? New York: Oxford University Press.

Kania, A. (2017, July 11). The Philosophy of Music. Retrieved from

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/music/

Martinique, Alena. "What Is Art According to Famous Thinkers Through History."

Widewalls. June 13, 2016. Accessed December 12, 2018.
https://www.widewalls.ch/what-is-art/.

M, E. (2011, May 31). Difference Between. Retrieved from

http://www.differencebetween.net/science/nature/difference-between-noise-and-
music/

12
New Tactics in Human Rights (n.d). Retrieved from
https://www.newtactics.org/conversation/cultural-resistance-atrs-protest

"Philosophy On Love of Wisdom from Truth & Reality." Aristotle Metaphysics Philosophy:
Metaphysics of Space and Motion Explains Philosopher Aristotle's Metaphysics,
Physics. Accessed November 13, 2018.

"Schopenhauer on Love." Philosophy on LiveJournal. Accessed December 12, 2018.

https://philosophy.livejournal.com/1999762.html.

Simpson, David. "The Symposium." Comedy and Tragedy. Accessed December 12, 2018.
https://condor.depaul.edu/dsimpson/tlove/symposium.html.

Stuart, H. (n.d.). Questions of Cultural Identity. Sage Publications.

Tim. "Definition of Love: Philosophy." Philosophy & Philosophers. February 15, 2013.
Accessed November 11, 2018. https://www.the-philosophy.com/definition-love-
philosophy.

13