11 Sep
2010
11 Sep
'10
12:07 a.m.
On Thu, Sep 09, 2010 at 02:41:17PM -0700, Ken Restivo wrote:
As for music, even though I'm somewhere between a
Daoist and a hard-core atheist, and I don't buy the idea of any kind of
anthropomorphic supreme-being gods, I can see a pretty clear evolutionary-musicology
explanation why why Bach made such consistently fantastic music.
Whereas other motivations such as professionalism, love of beauty, feelings of
inadequacy, greed, great joyful moments, poverty and misery, a need to show off or express
oneself, or a deep pain in the soul (the Romantic motivation), might cause one to make
outstanding music, and even memetic propagation, they also ebb and wane. There's
nothing like the consistent, sustainable dedication that one would obtain by believing
that your work is done for the benefit of an all-powerful god. Again, I think that'd
pretty clearly explain why Bach's work was so consistently technically perfect.
It's not like there not like there was anywhere to hide the flaws that the customer
wouldn't be able to see them. In that scenario, you'd have to bring your
"A" game every time. Nothing less would do.
Bach certainly was strongly motivated to develop his skills - you just have
to consider his 400 km or so walk on foot to visit Buxtehude in Luebeck and
his stay there for several months, without leave from his then employer in
Arnstadt.
And yes, faith can be a strong motivation. In either way - it can result in
both the creation of beauty and in the most extreme atrocities.
Ciao,
--
FA
There are three of them, and Alleline.