"Musical Improvisation and the Continuity of Mind and Life" - Keynote Lecture at The Phenomenology of Intercorporality in Art Symposium, Tokyo, Japan
University of Melbourne data repository April 2, 2026 DOI: 10.26188/31920621 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that an enactive lens, combined with dynamical systems theory, gives a richer account of musical and other improvisation by tracing continuities between improvisation practice and the dynamics of living systems. Proposes a '4E ontology' of the improvising mind and contends that habit, improvisation, and planning are interrelated aspects of human cognition rather than distinct or opposing types. |
Abstract
Improvisation is now recognized as central to human musicking across cultures, histories, and locations. In recent decades, the practice of ‘improvised music’ or ‘free improvisation’ has become a global phenomenon that provides opportunities for musicians from diverse backgrounds to meet, collaborate, negotiate difference, and develop new relationships. The value of improvisation is also increasingly recognized in areas like music education and music therapy as the practice affords opportunities for learning and healing that encourage creativity, cooperation, and a sense of agency. These developments align with a broader interest to better understand the nature and meaning of improvisation as it manifests across a range of creative activities and in everyday life, which has led to illuminating interdisciplinary discussions between arts practitioners, educators, and researchers in the cognitive humanities. Notably, there exists an evolving exchange of ideas and research guided by an orientation in embodied cognitive science referred to as ‘enactivism’. Put simply, the enactive approach highlights the central role played by the adaptive, ecologically situated body for mental life, tracing a deep continuity between biological and cognitive processes – between life and mind. In this talk, I explore how the enactive lens can provide a richer view of musical and other forms of improvisation by tracing continuities between improvisation practice and the evolving dynamics of living systems. I develop insights from dynamical systems theory and outline a 4E ontology (embodied, embedded, extended, enactive) of the improvising mind. I then examine the relationship between habits, improvisation, and planning. Here I argue that while these activities are often taken to be distinct or even opposing types, they are in fact interrelated aspects of human cognition. To conclude, I pose questions over the nature and conditions for improvisation and creativity in artificial systems.
Comparable studies
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| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |