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Music as a trait in evolutionary theory: A musicological perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2021

Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322Frankfurt am Main, Germany. melanie.wald-fuhrmann@ae.mpg.de lara.pearson@ae.mpg.de tina.roeske@ae.mpg.de christian.grueny@ae.mpg.de rainer.polak@ae.mpg.dehttps://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/en/research/department-of-music.html
Lara Pearson
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322Frankfurt am Main, Germany. melanie.wald-fuhrmann@ae.mpg.de lara.pearson@ae.mpg.de tina.roeske@ae.mpg.de christian.grueny@ae.mpg.de rainer.polak@ae.mpg.dehttps://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/en/research/department-of-music.html
Tina Roeske
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322Frankfurt am Main, Germany. melanie.wald-fuhrmann@ae.mpg.de lara.pearson@ae.mpg.de tina.roeske@ae.mpg.de christian.grueny@ae.mpg.de rainer.polak@ae.mpg.dehttps://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/en/research/department-of-music.html
Christian Grüny
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322Frankfurt am Main, Germany. melanie.wald-fuhrmann@ae.mpg.de lara.pearson@ae.mpg.de tina.roeske@ae.mpg.de christian.grueny@ae.mpg.de rainer.polak@ae.mpg.dehttps://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/en/research/department-of-music.html
Rainer Polak
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322Frankfurt am Main, Germany. melanie.wald-fuhrmann@ae.mpg.de lara.pearson@ae.mpg.de tina.roeske@ae.mpg.de christian.grueny@ae.mpg.de rainer.polak@ae.mpg.dehttps://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/en/research/department-of-music.html

Abstract

Although it can be straightforward to define the features of physical traits, complex cultural categories tend to elude widely accepted definitions that transcend cultural and historical context. Addressing papers by Mehr et al. and Savage et al., which both aim to explain music as an evolved trait, we discuss fundamental problems that arise from their conceptualizations of music.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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