Musikk og religion som estetisk erfaring. Et augustinsk perspektiv
Musikk og religion: Tekster om musikk i religion og religion i musikk January 1, 2022 DOI: 10.23865/noasp.177.ch2 (opens in new tab)
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe article argues that music and religion meet within the self through aesthetic experience, drawing on Augustine's descriptions in his Confessions. Rather than offering a historical analysis, the author thinks with Augustine to show that the human self becomes the arena where the drama between good and evil unfolds when music and religion interact. Augustine's approach suggests that theological reflection on music must remain skeptical of how music can be misused in religious contexts. The relationship between music and religion cannot be reduced to an abstract theory; understanding requires attending to concrete, subjective experiences.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Argues that the self is the place where music and religion meet in aesthetic experience, and that thinking about this relationship must proceed through concrete, subjective experience rather than abstract theory. |
Abstract
In this article, I reflect on how music and religion meet in aesthetic experience, and how thinking responds to this encounter. The way of thinking takes the form of an interpretation of key elements in Augustine’s description of his musical experiences in Confessions (Confessiones). This article is not a philological-historical interpretation of Augustine, but an attempt to think with Augustine today. Therefore, the article culminates in a reflection on the self as a place where music and religion meet. If we place the aesthetic experience of music within a theory of subjectivity, it shows that man himself becomes the place where the drama between good and evil in the meeting between religion and music takes place. With Augustine, one can interpret one’s own musical-religious experiences even today, and with Augustine we see the importance of a theological reflection on music that is sceptical of how music can be (mis)used in religious contexts. According to Augustine, thinking about the relationship between music and religion takes the form of descriptions of aesthetic experiences. They cannot be universalized into an abstract theory of the relationship between music and religion. Thinking must therefore go into the concrete experience to understand how music and religion respond to each other in human subjectivity.