Physics of Life Reviews 7 (2010) 3940

www.elsevier.com/locate/plrev

Comment

Evolution or culture, but music may soothe the savage breast.

Commentary on Leonid Perlovsky, Musical emotions: Functions,
origins, evolution
Daniel S. Levine
Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019-0528, United States
Received 11 January 2010; accepted 12 January 2010
Available online 14 January 2010
Communicated by J. Fontanari

Perlovsky carries on the welcome trend in neuroscience of respecting emotion as a partner with cognition (e.g.,
[14]). He makes the intriguing suggestion that music plays a particularly privileged role among all the arts in ensuring
the balance in individuals between emotion and cognition, and in societies between what he calls differentiation and
synthesis.
Perlovsky bases much of his theory on cultural and historical studies. So far, few scientific findings either support
or refute his hypothesis. In fact, his work suggests a wealth of potential experimental studies of different types of
music and their interactions with personality and learning. One can quibble with details of his theory on two points,
but neither invalidates his basic outlook or the research program that it can drive.
My first point is that not all behaviors can necessarily be explained in classic neo-Darwinian evolutionary terms [5].
The drive for meaning in human life is universal, yet there is no evidence that people with more meaningful lives live
longer or reproduce more than those with less meaningful lives. So I am skeptical that those of our ancestors who
were able to acquire differentiated contradictory knowledge and still maintain wholeness of psyche . . . had tremendous
advantage of survival. Differentiated consciousness does not always lead to long life or many descendants: it might
lead to risk-taking and early death. Nor does musical genius: Schubert had no children, Mozart had no grandchildren,
and both died before they were 40. Their lasting impact on us is cultural, not genetic.
My second point is that it is unclear that music is different from other arts in that it affects emotions directly
(not through concept representations). Poetry and pictorial art can also affect emotions directly. Words stir feelings
through their sounds as well as their meanings, and cathedral stained glass windows move me to awe despite my
disbelief in their theology. Conversely, some music can be a conceptual exercise for the composer or for the listener.
Throughout history, as Perlovsky notes, trends in music composition have often swung between the classical (less
emotional, more conceptual) and the romantic (more emotional, less conceptual).
Neither point is central to Perlovskys theory, which can generate years of research. For example, one can study
the basis of individual tastes for different types of music (classical versus rock, loud versus soft, modern versus
medieval, etc.). The reasonemotion imbalance is pervasive in Western culture but could take on many forms with
different personality types and subcultures. Depending on the nature of their imbalances, people could be drawn
toward reintegration via specific musical styles.
DOI of original article: 10.1016/j.plrev.2009.11.001.
E-mail address: levine@uta.edu.
1571-0645/$ see front matter 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.plrev.2010.01.008

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D.S. Levine / Physics of Life Reviews 7 (2010) 3940

Several other authors note analogies between music and language; some even suggest that language and music
might stem from the same underlying cognitive capacities (e.g., [6]). Yet Jackendoff [7] shows that music and language
are different in as many ways as they are analogous. Like Perlovsky, Jackendoff regards music as a communication
system that is distinct from language in that it communicates affective power rather than literal truth.
The theory also suggests music has analogies with religion. Perlovsky notes that musics universality in human
cultures has been enigmatic for traditional evolutionary theorists oriented toward fitness. Religion is also universal and
has been enigmatic for evolutionary theorists as well (e.g., [8,9]). These same theorists note that religion promotes
social cohesion regardless of the literal truth of its claims, which is close to what Perlovsky and others say about
music.
Finally, there are research questions about the relative efficacy of musical versus linguistic communication.
Perlovsky, citing Cross, notes that: Language, because of its concreteness . . . could exacerbate oppositions between
individual goals and transform an uncertain encounter into a conflict, whereas Musics major role is social, it serves
as an honest signal (that is it reveals qualities of a signaler to a receiver . . .). Music often promotes cross-cultural
understanding and reduces international tensions (e.g., Van Cliburns piano playing in Soviet Russia). Yet music also
rallies support for wars and dictators. This suggests that neither form of communication is inherently superior to the
other. But linguistic communication can borrow from musics honest signal; for example, some cognitive scientists
argue that persuasion is more effective when it relies on sharing values rather than reciting facts [10,11]. Much more
knowledge is needed about optimal balances between emotion and cognition, and some of that knowledge can come
from music.
Acknowledgement
Chelsea Roff provided valuable feedback on an earlier version of this commentary.
References
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