Synthesis philosophica, Vol. 40 No. 1, 2025.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.21464/sp40103
Musicality, Teleodynamics, and the Evolution of Biocultural Systems
Dylan van der Schyff
orcid.org/0000-0001-6503-914X
; University of Melbourne, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, 234 St. Kilda Rd. Southbank, VIC 3006, Australia
Sažetak
Debates over the biological meaning of human musicality have tended to play out within a theoretical orientation that explains evolution largely in terms of “adaptations”. While this orientation has produced some important insights, it also imposes rather strict distinctions between the products of “nature” and “culture” in the human phenotype. Accordingly, it is argued that the “adaptationist lens” may not be sufficient to capture the emergence and significance of complex forms of behaviour that draw on multiple physiological, cognitive, and environmental components. This paper outlines an alternative “biocultural” approach that appears to dissolve the apparent dichotomies associated with the adaptationist perspective – one that considers the emergence and meaning of human musicality in terms of dynamic feedback and feedforward effects that span genes, brains, bodies, and the socio-material environments. The paper also suggests that a biocultural approach demands a reassessment of the relevance of the notions of “agency” and “teleology” within evolutionary theory. To this end, I develop some tools for thought drawn from enactive and 4E cognitive science; and I make some suggestions for how the phenomenon of (musical) improvisation might offer useful heuristics for understanding the “teleodynamical” factors involved in the evolution of biocultural systems.
Ključne riječi
evolutionary musicology; biocultural coevolution; teleodynamics; 4E cognitive science; improvisation
Hrčak ID:
332038
URI
Datum izdavanja:
11.6.2025.
Posjeta: 655 *