CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Brooks, Ronan |
|---|---|
| Title | From Structures of Sound to Expressions of Emotion in Music: A Defense of Formalism |
| Summary | Once Platonism is accepted, a formalist theory of expression of emotion in music must be accepted. By demonstrating this connection between Platonism and formalism, I offer a new defense of formalist theories of expression of emotion in music. I begin with an outline of the two dominant accounts of expression of emotion in music, the formalist and arousal theories. Then, I turn to ontologies of music and discuss Platonism and nominalism. To demonstrate why nominalism must be rejected in favor of Platonism, I address common objections and original counterexamples to the nominalist ontology. I conclude by illustrating why an arousal theory of expression of emotion in music cannot be accepted alongside Platonism. As a result, the only coherent combination of theories is formalism and Platonism. |
| Supervisor | Weberman, David |
| Department | Philosophy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/brooks_ronan.pdf |
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