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A Logical Critique of David Elliott and Marissa Silverman, Music Matters: A Philosophy of Music Education, 2nd edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015).
Abstract
In this article, I present a five-part critique of the main aspects of the second edition of Music Matters by David Elliott and Marissa Silverman. This edition further develops their praxial philosophy, comprising topics on the nature and value of music education from a normative perspective, which in turn is developed to suit all musical education contexts. My analysis is organized in five main arguments concerning, first, an absence of historicity; second, the adoption of universalist premises; third, the inconsistency between the concepts of personhood and musical value; fourth, the adoption of a normative philosophy; and fifth, the relation between synthesis and content in the chapters. I argue that the book is constructed from a universalistic perspective and that its premises have epistemological inconsistencies. I offer a critical analysis of this extensive work for the purpose of engaging in a dialogue about themes which are relevant to the further development of philosophical thought in music education.
Keywords: music education, praxial philosophy, historicity, enactive, normative philosophy.
In Music Matters: A Philosophy of Music Education, 2nd edition,1 David Elliott and Marissa Silverman present a revised version of Elliott's Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education,2 introducing new premises and arguments about how music education should be carried out. In this article, I present a critique of five aspects of the book in order to contribute to a deeper analysis of this extensive work and engage in a dialogue about themes which are relevant to the further development of philosophical thought in music education. My analysis involves comparing the latter with its previous edition, concerning their theoretical frameworks, how its premises develop in specific chapters, and the consequences of their stance as choosing a normative philosophy. The five aspects involve: first, an absence of their own historicity, second, the adoption of universalist premises, third, inconsistency between the concepts of personhood and musical value, fourth, the adoption of a normative philosophy, and fifth, the relation between synthesis and content in the chapters. The main focus of my critique is to identify the inconsistencies and/or contradictions in Music Matters 2nd edition.
HISTORICITY
Historicity means...