Music and the origins of language : theories from the French Enlightenment / Downing A. Thomas.

Author
Thomas, Downing A. [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Description
xi, 195 pages ; 24 cm.

Availability

Available Online

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Mendel Music Library - Stacks P116 .T47 1995 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Series
    New perspectives in music history and criticism [More in this series]
    Summary note
    The search for the origins of language was one of the most pressing philosophical issues of the eighteenth century. What has often escaped notice, however, is the fact that music figures prominently in this search. This study analyses instances of thinking or reasoning about music and music theory as they appear within the logical and narrative structure of contemporary texts, including writings by Rousseau, Diderot, Rameau and Condillac. These can only be properly understood as part of an interdisciplinary project, as situated within a field of larger cultural issues and concerns. The author is interested in the ways in which music functions within this discursive framework to facilitate links between language and meaning, and between conceptions of an original society and an ideal social order.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-185) and index.
    Contents
    • 1. Music and language
    • 2. Origins
    • 3. Music theory and the genealogy of knowledge in Condillac's Essai sur l'origine des connaissances humaines
    • 4. Music and original loss in Rousseau's Essai sur l'origine des langues
    • 5. Sensible sounds: music and theories of the passions.
    ISBN
    • 0521473071 ((hardback))
    • 9780521473071 ((hardback))
    • 0521028620 ((pbk.))
    • 9780521028622 ((pbk.))
    LCCN
    94029938
    OCLC
    30892963
    Statement on language in description
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