Body – music – being

making music as bodily being in the world

Lars Oberhaus

pp. 101-112

in: Frederik Pio, Øivind Varkøy (eds), Philosophy of music education challenged: Heideggerian inspirations, Berlin, Springer, 2015

Abstract

Starting with Husserl (philosophy of consciousness: lifeworld) over Heidegger (fundamental ontology: being-in the-world) to Merleau-Ponty (phenomenology of the body: être au monde), a radicalization of ontology can be pointed out because of a consideration of the body as an access to perceive and understand being-in-the-world. Thus, Heidegger's fundamental ontology is an important approach to an embodied phenomenology. While Edmund Husserl's phenomenology is based on an apodictic Ego cogito (transcendental reduction: epoché) that leads to difficulties in the constitution of the others as to their consciousness, Martin Heidegger solves this problem of solipsism in form of a fundamental ontology. Each individual meets the world in the coexistence with others (being-with). This openness of being-in-the-world unlocks the door for music educational prospects. Making music is always a bodily act. Therefore, the concept of aesthetical/musical experience depends no longer on a primacy of perception/listening as many traditional aesthetic theories. Inter-subjective and inter-corporal dimensions become relevant because the subject is embodied in and through music. Music instruments are anchored in the world as an extension of the expressive and engaged body. Making music is an ontological interpretation of the world considering all inner-worldly existing.

Cited authors

Merleau-Ponty Maurice

Husserl Edmund

Heidegger Martin