Polyphonic Minds: Music of the Hemispheres (The MIT Press)

An exploration of polyphony and the perspective it offers on our own polyphonic brains.Polyphony—the interweaving of simultaneous sounds—is a crucial aspect of music that has deep implications for how we understand the mind. In Polyphonic Minds, Peter Pesic examines the history and significance of “polyphonicity”—of “many-voicedness”—in human experience. Pesic presents the emergence of Western polyphony, its flowering, its horizons, and the perspective it offers on our own polyphonic brains. When we listen to polyphonic music, how is it that we can hear several different things at once? How does a single mind experience those things as a unity (a motet, a fugue) rather than an incoherent jumble? Pesic argues that polyphony raises fundamental issues for philosophy, theology, literature, psychology, and neuroscience—all searching for the apparent unity of consciousness in the midst of multiple simultaneous experiences. After tracing the development of polyphony in Western music from ninth-century church music through the experimental compositions of Glenn Gould and John Cage, Pesic considers the analogous activity within the brain, the polyphonic “music of the hemispheres” that shapes brain states from sleep to awakening. He discusses how neuroscientists draw on concepts from polyphony to describe the “neural orchestra” of the brain. Pesic's story begins with ancient conceptions of God's mind and ends with the polyphonic personhood of the human brain and body. An enhanced e-book edition allows the sound examples to be played by a touch. Polyphony -- the interweaving of simultaneous sounds -- is a crucial aspect of music that has deep implications for how we understand the mind. In Polyphonic Minds , Peter Pesic examines the history and significance of -polyphonicity- -- of -many-voicedness- -- in human experience. Pesic presents the emergence of Western polyphony, its flowering, its horizons, and the perspective it offers on our own polyphonic brains. When we listen to polyphonic music, how is it that we can hear several different things at once? How does a single mind experience those things as a unity (a motet, a fugue) rather than an incoherent jumble? Pesic argues that polyphony raises fundamental issues for philosophy, theology, literature, psychology, and neuroscience -- all searching for the apparent unity of consciousness in the midst of multiple simultaneous experiences. After tracing the development of polyphony in Western music from ninth-century church music through the experimental compositions of Glenn Gould and John Cage, Pesic considers the analogous activity within the brain, the polyphonic -music of the hemispheres- that shapes brain states from sleep to awakening. He discusses how neuroscientists draw on concepts from polyphony to describe the -neural orchestra- of the brain. Pesic's story begins with ancient conceptions of God's mind and ends with the polyphonic personhood of the human brain and body. An enhanced e-book edition allows the sound examples to be played by a touch. "Polyphony - the interweaving of simultaneous sounds - is a crucial aspect of music that has deep implications for how we understand the mind. Peter Pesic examines the history and significance of "polyphonicity" - of "many-voicedness" - in human experience. He presents the emergence of Western polyphony, its flowering, its horizons, and the perspective it offers on our own polyphonic brains. When we listen to polyphonic music, how is it that we can hear several different things at once? How does a single mind experience those things as a unity (a motet, a fugue) rather than an incoherent jumble? Pesic argues that polyphony raises fundamental issues for philosophy, theology, literature, psychology, and neuroscience - all searching for the apparent unity of consciousness in the midst of multiple simultaneous experiences. After tracing the development of polyphony in Western music from ninth-century church music through the experimental compositions of Glenn Gould and John Cage, Pesic considers the analogous activity within the brain, the polyphonic "music of the hemispheres" that shapes brain states from sleep to awakening. He discusses how neuroscientists draw on concepts from polyphony to describe the "neural orchestra" of the brain. Pesic's story begins with ancient conceptions of God's mind and ends with the polyphonic personhood of the human brain and body. An enhanced e-book edition allows the sound examples to be played by a touch."--Rabat de la jaquette Cover 1 Title page 5 Copyright page 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Prelude 11 I POLYPHONY EMERGENT 23 1 Global Contexts and Ancient Origins 25 2 Dispassion and Deification 41 3 The Music of the Blessed 57 4 Oresme and the “New Song” 77 5 Polyphonic Controversies 95 II POLYPHONY TRIUMPHANT 109 6 E pluribus unum 111 7 Polyphony and Power 129 8 Controlling Dissonance 141 9 Contrapuntal Science and Art 159 10 In Bach’s Hands 173 III POLYPHONIC HORIZONS 191 11 Polyphony Extended 193 12 Contrapuntal Radio and Polyphonic Fields 219 IV POLYPHONIC BRAINS 237 13 Polyphonic Selves 239 14 Tuning the Brain 255 15 Music of the Hemispheres 269 Postlude 283 Notes 287 References 309 Illustration Credits 327 Acknowledgments 329 Index 331