From: Douglas P. Wilson (dp-wilson@shaw.ca)
Date: Wed Sep 11 2002 - 13:20:22 MDT
The subject line of this message (posted on the new Function of Music list, see
below) refers to Carl Sagan's book "The Dragons of Eden -- Speculations on the
Evolution of Human Intelligence" (Random House, 1977). If this message had a
subtitle it might be something like "Speculations on the Evolution of Musical
Intelligence".
To briefly summarise the book, the late Dr. Sagan divided up the human brain
into three evolutionary layers: the reptilian or R-complex that we share with
reptiles, the Limbic System that we share with other mammals, and the
Neocortex -- the cerebral cortex that we share with higher mammals but have
most uniquely developed into the centre of rational cognition. Now, though
this mailing list is aimed more at a functionalist sociology of music ("What is
music for?"), I shall address the function and structure of the human brain
with regards to music.
We should also consider another important distinction, that between right and
left brain. (Actually it is only the neocortex which is so divided). Carl
Sagan addressed this also, in a chapter called "Lovers and Madmen". (I am only
one of the latter, I regret to say).
As most educated people know, there seems to be an important distinction
between the left and right sides of the brain, with the left neocortex
specialised for cognitive and verbal tasks, while the right hand side is
involved in non-verbal thought, including artistic activities and love
(cerebral love, that is -- animal sex is a function of the reptilian complex
[and almost all living structures from the cell up], of course, otherwise lower
animals would not succeed so well in sexual reproduction).
When I am sitting and writing a message on the computer, as I am now, I often
get restless and feel a need to get up and do something else. But this
restless urge is often quelled by putting on a piece of instrumental music
(Respighi's Church Windows at the moment) and listening to it while I work. I
think -- my left-brain thinks -- that the restlessness I feel while writing or
performing other cognitive tasks on the computer, without the music playing, is
because my right brain gets very bored with all this left brain activity).
So we might now look at the (structural, not functional) "Evolution of Musical
Intelligence". What parts of the brain are involved in listening to, creating,
and enjoying music? It seems to me that more of the brain is involved in
musical appreciation and creation than in the cognitive left-brain activity we
are both performing now.
The American philosopher Suzanne Langer suggested that music is a language for
conveying our "knowledge of feeling", by which she meant feeling emotions not
touching surfaces. But emotions, as Dr. Sagan pointed out, are largely a
function of the limbic system, even if our knowledge or understanding of those
emotions is a higher function. So the limbic system is almost certainly
involved in feeling and emotion and especially love. But the right brain is
also the side most involved in feeling and emotion of all kinds, including
love. So in feeling -- experiencing emotions -- and in our knowledge of
feeling, both the right side of the brain AND the limbic system are involved.
If there is any truth at all in Suzanne Langer's theory of music, then music
also involves the limbic system as well as the right brain.
But love, at least some kind of love, is closely tied to (and often confused
with) sexual feelings and sexual activity, which is most properly the province
of the R-complex, the part of the brain we share with reptiles and all higher
sexually reproducing animals. So love and other emotions felt by the limbic
system are almost certainly closely tied to some kind of deep animal sexuality
and sensuality based in the reptilian complex. If that is true, then it is
probably also true that music is closely tied to activities of that lowest part
of the brain. Anyone who has seen couples dancing to music and reflected on
what many of those couples will be doing after they go home from the dance will
recognise the truth in this argument.
So it seems that the parts of the brain involved in music are not only the
right side of the neocortex but also the limbic system and the reptilian
(dinosaurian) complex. On the other hand while I am writing and you are
reading this message only the left brain is involved (except for the cerebellum
where motor control of the fingers on keyboard and mouse is active).
But of course the above argument, that music involves three distinct parts of
the brain: right-neocortex, limbic-system, and reptilian-complex, applies only
to instrumental music. Vocal music, and most especially the popular songs
which those couples on the dance floor are almost always listening to, involves
words, language and verbal activity -- song. So for this popular vocal music
all parts of the brain seem to be active, and essentially active, not only the
three parts used in instrumental music but also the linguistic functions of the
left brain. Whereas, to repeat myself, my writing and your reading are
essentially left brain functions. As would be thinking about what I have said,
if anybody bothers to do that.
Please permit me to suggest that you forward this message to anybody else you
think might be interested in it, since it was written in part to help promote
the new Function of Music online discussion group. I have appended below
information about how to join this group and where its web pages are located.
Forwarding this message to other discussion groups or mailing lists would be
especially effective in promoting this group since the kind of people who sign
up for such mailing lists are in fact the kind of people who sign up for
mailing lists. My apologies to anyone who receives more than one copy of this
message because of such forwarding or cross-posting activities.
dpw http://www.SocialTechnology.Org/dpwilson.html
Please note: the new Function of Music mailing list homepage is at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FunctionOfMusic/,
and you can join this discussion group by sending a blank e-mail message to:
FunctionOfMusic-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
A temporary home page for the new FunctionOfMusic.Org domain can be seen at:
www.SocialTechnology.Org/FunctionOfMusic.html
but it doesn't have any significant content yet -- just a copy of the first
message posted to the mailing list. Please note that this mailing list and
these web pages owe their existence to decades of discussion on this topic
between two current group members, both of whom can be expected to post
messages to the list. You might also note my avowed intention to be moderate
and sensible in my own messages.
dpw http://www.SocialTechnology.Org/dpwilson.html
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