Den musikalske etik
Music studies and philosophy have over the past few years seen increasing interaction: music scholars have found inspiration in philosophical topics and methods, and philosophers have engaged enthusiastically with the world of music, for example by using the art form to gain new insight into topics such as emotion, consciousness, and ethics. This scholarly interaction continually presents new and exciting interdisciplinary avenues through which both music studies and philosophy can develop and grow. While drawing on a selection of recent literature and approaches, this article accounts for (what I call) ’musical ethics’ and discusses what music might bring to scholarly discourse about ethics. Instead of viewing music as a philosophical ‘problem’ that needs to be solved, I suggest that a more fruitful strategy is to approach music and musical engagement as a philosophical opportunity through which we can better understand ourselves and the world around us. With a focus on examples of film music, I argue that musical ethics can uncover important facets of what it means to be both human and humane.