The Phenomenology of Music and the Thomistic Aesthetic

THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF MUSIC AND THE THOMISTIC AESTHETIC ONE FEATURE of Neo-Thomism has been the effort to formulate a theory of aesthetic. This attempt has resulted from the desire to confront Thomistic philosophy with modern problems in aesthetics. Such a "rapprochement " has received the attention of several scholastic philosophers in the past/ but these writers have been mostly concerned with philosophical aesthetics, excogitating their definitions of "beauty," and aesthetic value, in an "a priori'' manner, from the tenets of Thomism. Their approach has been highly ab:stract and conceptual, having only a tenuous contact with particular works of art. The Thomistic aesthetic is in danger of becoming impracticable unless its field is given more concrete specification. If there is to be validity to this aesthetic then there mu:st be special relationships between Thomistic principles and particular arts, capable of throwing light upon the arts, and of giving greater content to the principles. It should build, in an hierarchical manner, by observation and induction from the actual experience of art works culminating in its proper metaphysical level of abstraction. This higher level of intellection cannot be contemptuous of the material embodiment of art, believing that fundamental problems can be solved on a transcendental plane of abstraction without recourse to concrete particulars. The aim of this paper is to show that there is a basis of agreement between Thomistic principles and recent phe1 See Jacques Maritain "Art and Scholasticism" Scribner, N. Y. (1930), and "Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry" Pantheon Books, N. Y. (1953); Maurice De Wulf "Art and Beauty" B. Herder, St. Louis (1950); Leonard Callahan, O.P. ''A Theory of Esthetic According to the Principles of St. Thomas" Catholic University Press (1947); Robert Lechner, C.PP.S. "The Aesthetic Experience" H. Regnery Co. (1953), et al. 281 282 ALFRED PIKE nomenological developments in musical aesthetics.2 If such a compatibility can be demonstrated then there is a possibility that a more complete reconciliation can be accomplished throughout the field. THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF MusiC The phenomenological tendency in modern musical aesthetics is basically psychological and must be clearly distinguished from "philosophical phenomenology." Psychological phenomenology represents an approach rather than a system. The phenomenological method differs from general psychology in concentrating upon certain selected phases in psycho-physical activity, and their application to musical situations. This procedure places emphasis on a descriptive, factual scrutiny of musical events 3 as phenomena . It is preoccupied with problems of experience, meaning/ and communication arising from these musical events rather than a concern with "ideal beauty," and normative concepts of value. Phenomenological efforts are concentrated upon re-achieving a direct and basic contact with the actual music as it compels the senses to attention. These efforts avoid replacing music by something it is not, e.g., extra-musical concepts, emotional states, etc. This does 2 The phenomenological approach to music has been expounded by Leonard B. Meyer "Emotions and Meaning in Music" University of Chicago Press (1956), and Monroe Beardsley ''Aesthetics" Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. (1958). • The pitch-rhythm combinations of tones and their organization make up these ''musical events.'' These different kinds of phenomenal ''Gestalts'' are melodies, chords, rhythms in various style patterns and contexts. Smaller groupings of events are in turn developed into larger architectonic formal structures which are not directly perceptible, but must rely on memory for comparison and evaluation. • The meaning of music has concerned many theorists in the past, but the practical application of phenomenology is recent. From a phenomenological point of view musical experience is basically an act of perception, and musical meaning arises from this perception, dealing with the sheer surface qualities of sound. THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF MUSIC & THOMISTIC AESTHETIC 283 not imply that extra-musical meanings do not exist or are unimportant, but such considerations are not allowed to obscure the phenomenological scrutiny of the music. When the auditory nerves are stimulated we have experiences of a certain kind. These experiences, received through the ears, are described by :saying that we hear a certain quality of sound or pitch. This description of our aural experience would be unlike that given to such sensations as tickling, pricking, or burning. It is unlike these descriptions because they depend...