Description: Consciousness has been described as one of the most mysterious things in the universe. Scientists, philosophers, and commentators from a whole range of disciplines can't seem to agree on what it is, generating a sizeable field of contemporary research known as consciousness studies.
Following its forebear Music and Consciousness: Philosophical, Psychological and Cultural Perspectives (OUP, 2011), this volume argues that music can provide a valuable route to understanding consciousness, and also that consciousness opens up new perspectives for the study of music. It argues that consciousness extends beyond the brain, and is fundamentally related to selves engaged in the world, culture, and society. The book brings together an interdisciplinary line up of authors covering topics as wide ranging as cognitive psychology, neuroscience, psychoanalysis, philosophy and phenomenology, aesthetics, sociology, ethnography, and performance studies and musical styles from classic to rock, trance to Daoism, jazz to tabla, and deep listening to free improvisation. Music and Consciousness 2 will be fasinating reading for those studying or working in the field of musicology, those researching consciousness as well as cultural theorists, psychologists, and philosophers.Review Quotes:
"Music is a productive medium of consciousness. The essays collected in this volume illuminate consciousness as situated, practiced, experienced - and as something that takes shape in the spaces between people and culture. A must read for anyone interested in what consciousness is and where it comes from, Music and Consciousness 2 showcases music's potent affordances for the study of - in the broadest sense - being in the world."
"Music and Consciousness 2 brings together an ensemble of voices to challenge orthodox ideas and offer new perspectives on issues that cut across multiple disciplines. For those who are seriously studying consciousness they present advanced music lessons on topics such as performance, improvisation, affect, perception, altered states of awareness, empathy, social interaction and much more. Not singing to the choir here. They show us that music can move us to reconsider the importance of basic brain-body-environment attunements. In the background one hears the subtle beat of the 4E drum. Turn it up!" -- Shaun Gallagher, Lillian and Morrie Moss Chair of Excellence in Philosophy, University of Memphis, USA
"Impressive in scope and diverse in methodology, this volume brings together scholars from a rich variety of musical fields to explore the multifaceted and complex phenomenon that is consciousness. The result is as convincing as it is useful, and will be of interest to anyone seeking to understand how musical engagement can make a profound contribution to our grasp of being human." -- Nanette Nielsen, Associate Professor, University of Oslo, Norway
"This is a new exciting interdisciplinary volume that explores the many facets of the complex relation between music and consciousness. It discusses how listening to music influences our conscious experience, as well as how musicians experience themselves and others in performance and improvisation. It also explores various ways in which music expands human consciousness, enabling us to considerably enhance and enrich our capacity to feel. This volume will certainly appeal to philosophers, psychologists, musicians and music therapists." -- Giovanna Colombetti, Sociology, Philosophy, and Anthropology, University of Exeter, UK
"Producing a worthy successor to the original Music and Consciousness volume was always going to be a difficult task, but Music and Consciousness 2 rises admirably to the challenge. Impressively wide-ranging, yet compellingly coherent as a whole, this is a book that tackles the thorniest of problems in the most lucid of prose. Collectively, these essays make clear both the ability of music to stimulate consciousness studies and the potential for ideas about consciousness to challenge, perhaps even to transform, musicological orthodoxies." -- Tomas McAuley, Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, UK