(no subject)
Building from my last post, I want to 'chew' the ideas relating reason to emotion. Starting with the fact that nature has not automatically given us reason in the same way that it makes us hungry and horny, it follows that there is some key difference. Volition would seem to be the obvious choice. There is a sense where we choose to reason while emotions are just felt. One is active, the other passive. An important distinction among many, is that you have to figure out why reason is important. We don,t have to know why sex is important, that is taken care of by our feelings. Reason is a process that can analyze our emotions, our feelings and discover what causes them. There are reasons as to why we get hungry and horny. Identifying them gives you a power beyond the intensity felt before. This is a point worth inspecting. Music is a good way to illustrate the before and after of learning the reasons behind a given emotion.
If you are a person who knows what the 18th variation is to Rachmaninoff's Paganini Rhapsody and like it for no other reason than that it pleases your ear this is for you. About 1991 a Miss Martyn wrote a fine biography about Rachmaninoff. She explains that Rachmaninoff was interested in showcasing an integration between two forms of classical music, the piano concerto and sets of variations. The 18th variation is, without question, the center of the piece. It is the only one that turns up in music boxes. Rachmaninoff has an argument in support of the 18th, but most people love it on nothing more than their emotional ear. There are 24 variations in the piece, 23 related in obvious ways to the main theme. The 18th is different in a way unique to that variation. Twenty three variations are deduced, the 18th is induced. Rachmaninoff is teaching us a lesson in logic. The 23 are commensurable to the ear, the 18th has to rely on other tactics, it is incommensurable. The most obvious difference is that it is played twice, once by solo piano, and again with the piano supporting the orchestra. Less obvious is the fact that the 18th salutes reason by demonstrating an indirect proof, the base of all inductive knowledge. The 18th is taken from a reading of the original piece, upside down.
Sets of variations usually establish a theme and then go through a series of variations where the variation keeps the theme and varies the tempo, or some other aspect. In the case of the 18th, Rachmaninoff, by inverting the score retains the spacing (tempo) between the notes and creates a new tune. As with the other variations there is a mix of new and old with the mind capable of making the necessary but less obvious integration. It sounds familiar, and yet inexplicable. Knowing the why of the 18th increases the emotional response for those who love reason.
The same method of relating the causes of emotions in general, results in a greater reward.
If you are a person who knows what the 18th variation is to Rachmaninoff's Paganini Rhapsody and like it for no other reason than that it pleases your ear this is for you. About 1991 a Miss Martyn wrote a fine biography about Rachmaninoff. She explains that Rachmaninoff was interested in showcasing an integration between two forms of classical music, the piano concerto and sets of variations. The 18th variation is, without question, the center of the piece. It is the only one that turns up in music boxes. Rachmaninoff has an argument in support of the 18th, but most people love it on nothing more than their emotional ear. There are 24 variations in the piece, 23 related in obvious ways to the main theme. The 18th is different in a way unique to that variation. Twenty three variations are deduced, the 18th is induced. Rachmaninoff is teaching us a lesson in logic. The 23 are commensurable to the ear, the 18th has to rely on other tactics, it is incommensurable. The most obvious difference is that it is played twice, once by solo piano, and again with the piano supporting the orchestra. Less obvious is the fact that the 18th salutes reason by demonstrating an indirect proof, the base of all inductive knowledge. The 18th is taken from a reading of the original piece, upside down.
Sets of variations usually establish a theme and then go through a series of variations where the variation keeps the theme and varies the tempo, or some other aspect. In the case of the 18th, Rachmaninoff, by inverting the score retains the spacing (tempo) between the notes and creates a new tune. As with the other variations there is a mix of new and old with the mind capable of making the necessary but less obvious integration. It sounds familiar, and yet inexplicable. Knowing the why of the 18th increases the emotional response for those who love reason.
The same method of relating the causes of emotions in general, results in a greater reward.