Chapter 1: Referential Meaning In Music/Palindromes are Underrated

In Chapter 1 we discuss Susanne K. Langer's book, "Philosophy in a New Key," where she explores that music, like language, is a symbol system. She further explores this idea, maintaining that "meaning in music has rationality and system but cannot be evaluated or fully understood based on the rules of ordinary language" (13). Langer weaves her methods of analysis with the works of philosophers of language.

Langer goes further to dissect the concept of contrasting language types: "1). "genuine" language and 2) "non-discursive" systems, (poetry, music, ritualistic arts). Music, Langer believes, is "non-discursive" because it is a function of logic and intuition.

Langer's, Philosophy in a New Key also discusses music as a symbol system. One of the intriguing moments in Langer's analysis is her view that music captures, the "morphology" of feeling. Meaning that music can better convey feeling than language (16). For Langer, music conveys feeling better than language because feeling is a concept that functions more abstractly than language can.

The main criticism of Langer's analysis is that she never uses a theoretical musical analysis to enforce her views of referential meaning in music. For Lawrence Ferrara, the conclusive step to her theory at an extensive musical analysis. Ferrara concludes his argument, by finding that because Langer's theory lacks syntactical research, that it lacks foundation, proving Philosophy in a New Key an incomplete analysis.

My Reaction:

"Bob" By: "Weird Al" Yankovic


By: Simon Evans
James Cohan Gallery, New York, New York
February 20th, 2009