User:LGreg/sandbox/Approaches to Knowledge (LG seminar 2020/21)/Seminar 18/Truth/Truth in music

Definition of Truth

Truth can be defined as a fact or a belief that is accepted as true. The quest for truth is natural for humans. According to St Thomas d 'Acquin, "the truth is the adequacy of the thing and of the intellect". In fact the truth is a link between the real and the thing, so only our judgments are considered true or false. We can consider the truth as being the deliverance from ignorance because ignorance is the fact of not knowing or not having certain knowledge. Truth allowed humans to come out of ignorance and was the engine that led us to know ourselves and the world around us. In some way, the truth leads to freedom because knowing the truth makes making choices possible. The idea of truth in music is not common, and it doesn't feel natural to use that term. But there is much more truth in music than we can imagine. According to Pascal, "we know the truth not only by reason but also by heart."

Is truth relative or absolute?

"Relative truth" and "absolute truth" are questionable and uncertain expressions. Moreover, their meanings vary according to different theories. However, it's possible to expose the views like that: the Absolute theory is that if something is once true, then it's always right, it means that this "true" is a time-independent predicate. Although the relative theory reject the fact that if something is valid once in some circumstances it will always be accurate, so this "true" is a time-dependent predicate. Absolute truth would be something real, independently of anything. A relative truth would be a true perspective from one angle but not from another, while something else is equally true from the other angle.. Therefore I don't believe that there is an answer to this question, I think that truth can be either absolute or relative, but it depends on the subject and on the evidence.

Truth in Music

Unlike scientific truth, which can be objective because it can be confirmed by evidence that are independent of any situation; truth in music depends on opinion and perspective. Through its meaning and rhythm, music transmits one or more emotions to the listener, except that these emotions rely totally on the person who feels them. A melody is objectively (i.e., without the intervention of external elements, opinions, or peripheral situation) the same in all cases because it is always the same notes that are played. Nevertheless, it will always be subjective because it will depend on the person who plays it, the person who listens to it, even the place in which it is played or heard. As each individual is very different, it will be felt very differently by the various people who will play or listen to it. Still the emotions that they will experience will lead to a form of truth in the sense that emotions correspond to an instinctive reaction that doesn't depend on our will meaning that you can’t lie to yourself and so that your emotions are the truth of how and what you feel. Thanks to music, people feel emotions, which will necessarily result in truth from their perspective, meaning that truth in music is undoubtedly relative: there is no absolute truth. Music will not provide a single answer to be interpreted in a unique way because it will touch and challenge people differently. As a result, there is as much truth about music as they are people who listen or play music.