Character And Music: Aristotle’s Problematic Conception: Free Sample Essay To Follow

The relationship between music and emotions has long been the subject of philosophical discussion. In this sense, one of the greatest thinkers of all time, Aristotle, believed that music could decidedly and substantially modify a person’s way of being. If one were to listen to bad music for excessive periods of time, one would become a bad person; conversely, if one desired to be good, one would have to listen to the right kind of music. Nevertheless, it is important to critique this in three different ways, as it is a very problematic statement. First, one would have to establish what parameters one would take in order to determine what music was good, something that seems completely arbitrary. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence does not support this theory, as there are many bad people that listen to good music, and vice versa. Finally, it could just come down to preferences, with good people preferring good music, and bad people preferring the incorrect one. Therefore, Aristotle’s claim that one should use good music in order to forge good people may be rightly criticized, as it does not seem very logical or correct.
In addition, anecdotal evidence does not support this relationship that Aristotle is attempting to establish. There have been many good people that like bad music and vice versa. Notably, acclaimed composers, such as Wagner, and accomplished philosophers, such as Martin Heidegger, were both loved by the Nazi regime in Germany. These people were the authors of some of the unquestionably worst horrors that humankind has ever inflicted on itself, yet they listened to what was considered to be the correct type of music.
On the other hand, somebody that is a very good person at heart can listen to music that is complete trash. My next door neighbor is proof of this: even though she listens to popular music and trashy hip-hop, she is really sweet and is always willing to do favors for others. Even though this type of anecdotal evidence does not really prove anything, it does place doubt on the validity of Aristotle’s assertion. As there are good people that listen to considerably bad music, there may not be such a direct relationship between the quality of the music and that of the person.
Finally, even if there were such a relationship, the causation element that Aristotle proposes would have to be criticized. For him, listening to the right kind of music would lead to good people. However, it could just be that good people are naturally inclined to listen to this type of music. In other words, even if there were such a relationship, one could not really know, without experimenting, if they were formed through the music that they like, or if they just prefer it due to their personality.
It would seem odd that exposure to a work of art would make a person better. On the other hand, it seems more logical to think that people are naturally inclined to certain types of music, something that does not depend on their education, but on their natural dispositions. Aristotle proposes that music could serve as a form of education, yet its artistic and non-normative qualities would make it very difficult for it to actually serve correctional purposes. Therefore, it would be very counter-intuitive to have music be a people sculptor, as one can interpret it however one would like.
In conclusion, it seems that Aristotle was at fault when he proposed that people should be exposed to the correct music in order to straighten out their temperance. First, this implies a hierarchy within music that is arbitrary and could even be considered as an attempt to control the likes of others. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence does not support Aristotle’s findings, as some of the worst atrocities in humankind’s history were performed by people who liked supposedly good music. Finally, it would be very suspect to believe that music would be educational because one can interpret it however one wishes. In this sense, it would seem more logical that one just naturally likes certain types of music, instead of being molded by them. Therefore, the relationship between sentiments and music keeps being up for debate, because Aristotle’s formative proposal does not seem too coherent.