Claim CB421:

Evolution does not explain music.

Response:

  1. This is an argument from incredulity. Not knowing how something is explained does not mean it cannot be explained.

  2. There is evidence that music is related to language. An out-of-place chord triggers a part of the brain that recognizes correct syntax (Clarke 2001; Maess et al. 2001). Thus an appreciation of music could have arisen, at least in part, as a side-effect of the evolution of language.

    Another hypothesis is that music arose in parallel with sociality, as a means of linking people through such communal activities as dance and rhythm (Benzon 2001).

References:

  1. Benzon, 2001. (see below).
  2. Clarke, Tom, 2001 (23 Apr). Chords strike a grammatical note. Nature Science Update, http://www.nature.com/nsu/010426/010426-4.html
  3. Maess, B., S. Koelsch, T. C. Gunter and A. D. Friederici, 2001. Musical syntax is processed in Broca's area: an MEG study. Nature Neuroscience 4: 540-545.

Further Reading:

Benzon, William L., 2001. Beethoven's Anvil: Music in mind and culture. New York: Basic Books.
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created 2001-4-29, modified 2003-7-11