Re: God forbid anyone should like anything!

Thingo wrote:

tombrown@xxxxxxx wrote:

It seems to me that the entire purpose of music is to entertain the
audience.



There isn't one 'entire purpose'. Music has been embedded in cultures
for at least 50,000 years, probably 100,000. Many peoples and purposes.



In both art and religion, the claim to "greater intrinsic merit" always
boils down to either "because I like it more," or "because <insert
authority here> likes it more."



No: I think you'll find that the move of judgements 'inside' (ie. from
'x is good' to 'I like x') is a recent historical development. See
Charles Taylor's Sources of the Self (one amongst many examples). 'I
like it' may have been a literally incomprehensible statement for much
of mankind's history.


There is no independent yardstick for
instrinsic artistic merit.



True. But there's no 'independent' yardstick for almost any complex
judgement, in music, genetics,


	I wouldn't characterize "genetics" as a "judgement".

Steve


psychology, cognitive science, court 
judgements, anything. That doesn't make them all 'subjective'.


If you can point me to one I'd love to see
it. But I'm not going to take your word for it. I'm not a religious
man; I need to see the evidence.



Seeing the evidence is a matter, like all other fields of knowledge of
going through the process. Almost nothing of value can be 'proved' in
an NG post. That's why it takes so long to be an 'expert' in anything:
it requires combinations of reflection, learning the relevant language,
deepening the relevant experiences, sharpening perceptions, etc.



I suspect that the claim that "my esthetic is superior to yours" stems
from ego needs



One input, no doubt. But you can also look at it as a potential
exercise in humility. There are many types of music that I can make no
judgement about, because I just don't know enough about them. I attach
no value to my 'likes' or 'dislikes' of them, because I'm ignorant. The
more I learnt about them (heard more, understood their context, history
etc), the more value I'd attach to my judgement.



--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001
.

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