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7 - To Kalon and Music

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2021

Paula Gottlieb
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Madison
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Summary

Chapter 7 concerns to kalon and music. According to Aristotle, virtue of character and happiness are examples of to kalon, and the good person, who acts and feels correctly, does so for the sake of to kalon. While to kalon clearly means “the beautiful” in certain other contexts, there is a major debate in Aristotelian scholarship about whether to kalon has an aesthetic aspect in Aristotle’s ethics. I briefly discuss some aesthetic ideas in Aristotle’s Metaphysics, biological works, and Poetics, showing how they carry over into his ethics. I then raise some objections to the structural view of to kalon in Aristotle’s ethics. Next I discuss the ethical dimension to music – the importance of music for moral education, including a discussion of fear and sympathy and a reprise of the Philoctetes. This is followed by a discussion of the musical dimension to ethics, with music providing the best metaphor for describing the interdependence of the good person’s thought and feelings. Finally, I address the question what it means for the good person to act for the sake of to kalon, and I provide some reflections on music, contemplation, and the happy life.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • To Kalon and Music
  • Paula Gottlieb, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Book: Aristotle on Thought and Feeling
  • Online publication: 08 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107323544.008
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  • To Kalon and Music
  • Paula Gottlieb, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Book: Aristotle on Thought and Feeling
  • Online publication: 08 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107323544.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • To Kalon and Music
  • Paula Gottlieb, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Book: Aristotle on Thought and Feeling
  • Online publication: 08 January 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107323544.008
Available formats
×