Four Ways of Knowing

Music <<study>> is a way of beholding the logos

The way I think about music evolved from the way I learned how to experience music. There are many difficulties, though, that emerge when we try to think about something as experiential as music. These difficulties emerge because the way classical music theory is traditionally presented relies too much on propositional knowing instead of other forms of knowing. Being without direct experience throws the aims of music theory into question. This short piece attempts to look at the nature of thought and lay out what I’ve learned from cognitive science about the ways of knowing, and in doing so, approach new ways of understanding and teaching music, and serve an example of how we may live more fully in the world.