A Study of the Views of Fārābī and Descartes on Beauty in Music with an Emphasis on Consonance and Dissonance in Intervals Between Notes
Subject Areas : مطالعات تطبیقی تاریخ فلسفه
Mohammad Saleh Baratali
1
,
Farideh Afarin
2
1 - MA student, Department of Art Studies, Faculty of Art, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Art Studies, Faculty of Art, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran
Keywords: Fārābī, Descartes, Consonance, dissonance, musical intervals, beauty,
Abstract :
This study investigates the views of Fārābī and Descartes regarding beauty in music and the quality of emphasizing the consonance and dissonance of intervals between notes and their perception by listeners. In order to compare their views around beauty in music, the authors have adopted a descriptive-analytic method. The findings of the study indicate that both of them, while commonly focusing on Greek philosophy as the foundation of their philosophical and mathematical endeavors, believe that the harmony between sounds and Man’s natural feelings underlies the sense of beauty in music. However, they have defined the criterion for this principle differently. The main difference between them is that Fārābī, in addition to his formalist approach to beauty in music, also pays attention to its perception by listeners. In fact, he follows a social approach to music. He maintains that the perception of beauty helps Man and civil society to attain happiness. Nevertheless, Descartes follows an individualistic approach and believes that the ultimate end of listening to music is utter joy. His reliance on mathematics led him to propose the consonance of the third and sixth intervals for the first time after confirming the dissonance of the fourth interval in contiguity, which Fārābī also agreed with. On the other hand, Descartes’ mathematical view prevented him from making any suggestion regarding the introduction of the consonance of arrangements so that composers and musicians would appreciate it. Unlike him, Fārābī, based on his own practical experience in the field of music, introduced some arrangement of notes that enjoy more melodic features.