Jul 17, 2018
Are music and morals connected? If so, what is the nature of
that connection? Are certain musical sounds morally bad or good in
themselves, or are they neutral? Could the influence of music on
morality be of an indirect kind? Is there such a thing as a
virtuous way of listening to music? Can music prepare us for the
spiritual life? Do you have to be a good person to make beautiful
music? I discuss these questions and more with theologian Fr. Basil
Cole, O.P., an amateur jazz pianist who wrote his dissertation on
the moral effects of music (not to be confused with another Fr.
Basil who has also commented on the same subject!).
Links
Basil Cole, O.P. bio
https://www.dominicanajournal.org/preacher-professor-and-author-extraordinaire/
Read Fr. Basil’s dissertation https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=11968
Fr. Basil articles at CC
https://www.catholicculture.org/search/resultslist.cfm?requesttype=docbrowseauth&resourcetype=1&catlabel=author&catid=85
Excellent article on the Rosary by Fr. Basil
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9226
Jeff Mirus’s review of Music and Morals https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=510
Jeff Mirus’s review of The Hidden Enemies of the
Priesthood https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=253
Jeff Mirus’s review of Christian Totality https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=842
Further recommended reading (not mentioned in
episode):
Elisabeth-Paule Labat, O.S.B., The Song That I Am: On the
Mystery of Music https://amzn.to/2LemFYY
Timestamps
3:16 Fr. Basil Cole interview
4:05 Fr. Basil’s musical background
10:01 Refuting the claim that certain musical sounds are
intrinsically morally bad or good
12:20 Common misapplication of Plato’s theory of music
18:28 Does music imitate or express emotions?
20:05 Why certain personalities might feel threatened by musical
creativity; the necessity of risk in art and the spiritual life
25:31 Why the philosophers have not understood music: it goes
beyond reason and concepts
31:32 How good music teaches us to “rejoice rightly”
37:34 Music as school of contemplation
44:34 Beauty and morality: an indirect relationship; can music
promote morality through happiness?
48:31 Temperance in listening to music
51:17 Is mediocre music morally degrading?
55:08 Using music to foster false identity and narcissistic
sentimentality vs. true self-knowledge through contemplation
59:16 The vice of curiositas in music: music streaming
tempts us to superficial musical gluttony
1:01:05 Curiositas: Over-analysis and musical
snobbery
1:03:28 What Frank Serpico can teach us about music and
integrity
1:06:38 Do you have to be a good person to make beautiful
music?
1:10:50 What virtues does an artist need?
1:13:02 How to begin listening to music more deeply
1:15:47 This week’s excerpt: Sirach 32:5
