The Ethical Values of the Music Art of the Ancient Greeks: A Semiotic Essay
ABSTRACT: Humanity requires for its satisfaction Beauty and Good, that is, love, wisdom, and courage. Put differently, the necessity of order, equilibrium, and harmony. These values ground one of the most elevated planes of the spiritual life: music. Its moral force in the education of the mind, soul, and behavior of the human person has been emphasized by the ancient Greek philosophers. This important message exists as a pattern crossing the centuries. I will try to reveal the unity ¡¥ethics¡¦/ethike - ¡¥music¡¦/melos by using the semiotic organon.
Suggested by the very remarkable interest taken in the music in the works of the ancient Greek philosophers, our attempt¡Xa semiotic attempt¡Xwould succeed in getting us closer to the meaning of what is called "the ethos of music" in the civilization of ancient Greeks.
The model of semiosis allows us the investigation of the ¡¥sign¡¦: music, in its structure, in its act and its functionality which means communication and signification. Thus we can identify ¡¥the music-sign¡¦ through the expression of the sense¡Xthe sense that "is conceived as an evidence, as the feeling of comprehension, in a very natural way" (1)¡Xand through the significance. Thus, our guidance implies ¡¥sign¡¦, ¡¥expression¡¦, ¡¥signification¡¦¡Xthe triad that brings together the coordinates of semiosis; defined, it, by Charles S.Peirce through the cooperation of the sign, its object and its interpretant (2) and by U.Eco: "the process through which the empirical individuals communicate and the processes of communication become possible thanks to the systems of significance" (3). This semiosis is put in evidence by different semio...
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...f. Th.Reinach, La musique grecque, Payot, Paris, 1926; C.Sachs, The Rise of Music in the Ancient World, W.W.Norton & Comp. Inc. New York, 1969.
(11) Platon, Gorgias, in Opere, vol. I, Ed. Stiintifica si enciclopedica, Bucuresti, 1975.
(12) Th.Reinach, op. cit., p. 158.
(13) Aristotel, Politica, Ed. Cultura Nationala, Bucuresti, 1924, p. 201.
(14) W.Fleming, Arte si idei, Ed.Meridiane, Bucuresti, 1983, vol. I, p. 104.
(15) C.Popescu, in vol. II, Partea 2, Filosofia greaca pina la Platon, Ed.Stiintifica si enciclopedica, Bucuresti, 1979, p. 778.
(16) Platon, Republica, in Opere, vol.V, Ed.Stiintifica si enciclopedica, Bucuresti, 1986, p. 190.
(17) Diogenes Laertios, Despre vietile si doctrinele filosofilor, Ed.Academiei Romane, Bucuresti, 1963.
(18) Ch.Morris, Signs, Language and Behaviour, New York, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1946, p. 118.
1. Music is a strictly local expression, rich in variety since each culture expresses affective differences through art, 2. Music is a poetic process--complex, vague, and irrational--based upon borrowed traditional musical materials (melodies, rhythms, forms, etc.), 3. Music is for a religious, elitist-class performer who can understand and appreciate its mysterious nature and power, 4. Music is played softly in intimate gatherings, 5. Music making is the activity of Everyman, exacting the talents of variously trained amateurs who, with industry and practice, decorate their recreation and leisure in moments of social intercourse.
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 20 vols. (London: Macmillan, 1980)9: 708-709
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Schiraldi, Vincent, Jason Ziedenberg, and Eric Lotke. "An Examination Impact of 3-strikes Laws 10 Years after Its Enactment." Justice Policy Institute. 10 Sept. 2004. Web. 15 July 2011.
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TitleAuthor/ EditorPublisherDate James Galways’ Music in TimeWilliam MannMichael Beazley Publishers1982 The Concise Oxford History of MusicGerald AbrahamOxford University Press1979 Music in Western CivilizationPaul Henry LangW. W. Norton and Company1941 The Ultimate Encyclopaedia of Classical MusicRobert AinsleyCarlton Books Limited1995 The Cambridge Music GuideStanley SadieCambridge University Press1985 School text: Western European Orchestral MusicMary AllenHamilton Girls’ High School1999 History of MusicRoy BennettCambridge University Press1982 Classical Music for DummiesDavid PogueIDG Books Worldwide,Inc1997
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Smith, Kevin B. The Politics of Punishment: Evaluating Political Explanations of Incarceration... Journal of Politics. Aug2004, Vol. 66 Issue 3, p925-938. 14p. 2 Charts. DOI:
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A man feels that if he’s going to get married and have children, he should be
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