PN B T [  4 [ V C B S U  t  & Y Q M B O B U J P O  B O E  3 F E V D U J P O  J O  U I F  $ P H O J U J W F  / F V S P T D J F O D F    Explanation and Reduction in the Cognitive Neuroscience Approach to the Musical Meaning Problem Tomasz Szubart

PN B T [  4 [ V C B S U  t  & Y Q M B O B U J P O  B O E  3 F E V D U J P O  J O  U I F  $ P H O J U J W F  / F V S P T D J F O D F    Abstract. The aim of this chapter is to refer basic philosophical approaches to the problem of musical meaning and, on the other hand, to describe some FYBNQMFTPGUIFSFTFBSDIPONVTJDBMNFBOJOHGPVOEJOUIFmFMEPGDPHOJUJWFOFVSPTDJFODF#ZMPPLJOHBUUIPTFUXPBQQSPBDIFTUPHFUIFSJUDBOCFTFFOUIBUUIFSF JTTUJMMOPBHSFFNFOUPOIPXNVTJDBMNFBOJOHTIPVMECFVOEFSTUPPE PGUFOEVF UPTFWFSBMNFUIPEPMPHJDBMQSPCMFNTPGXIJDIUIFNPTUJNQPSUBOUTFFNUPCFUIF possibility of inter-theoretical reduction and application of an accurate theory of FYQMBOBUJPO*NTVHHFTUJOHUIBUUIFBQQMJDBUJPOPGTPNFGPSNPGUIFNFDIBOJTUJD NPEFMPG FYQMBOBUJPONJHIUCF GPVOEVTFGVM GPS DMBSJGZJOHSFEVDUJPOJTNBOUJSFductionism dispute concerning musical meaning, and more importantly, for proWJEJOHTPNFBOTXFSTGPSUIFEFCBUFJONVTJDBTMBOHVBHFDPOUSPWFSTZ Introduction .VTJD JT FWFSZXIFSFXIFSF IVNBO JT/PXPOEFS UIFO  UIBU BMNPTU TJODFUIFCFHJOOJOHPGXFTUFSOQIJMPTPQIZ NVTJDCFDBNFBOJOUFSFTUPG the philosophical thought. At least since Pythagoras, philosophers tried to VOEFSTUBOEBOEFYQMBJOUIFSPMFPGNVTJDJOUIFXPSMEBOEJOUIFIVNBO mind. Until the 19th century, that is until the beginning of the development PGTDJFODFT UIFUPQJDTDPODFSOJOHNVTJDXFSFNPTUMZEJTDVTTFECZQIJMPTPQIFSTBOEDPNQPTFST5IBUTJUVBUJPOCFHBOUPDIBOHFUPHFUIFSXJUIUIF EFWFMPQNFOUPG	FYQFSJNFOUBM QTZDIPMPHZBOENVTJDPMPHZBTTQFDJBMJ[FE disciplines. Using methods of empirical science, psychologists started to FYQMBJOUIFQIFOPNFOPOPGNVTJD *OUIFSFDFOU UXFOUZZFBST DPHOJUJWF OFVSPTDJFOUJTUTIBWFCFHVO UPSFTFBSDI UIFSFMBUJPOTCFUXFFO MBOHVBHF and music, in order to solve one of the oldest philosophical riddles concerning music: musical meaning. In analytical philosophy, the notion of NFBOJOHJTIBSEMZVTFEPVUPGMJOHVJTUJDDPOUFYU XIBUJTPCWJPVT HJWFOUIF necessity of semantic foundation of meaning. Therefore, for most of the DMBTTJDBMBOBMZUJDQIJMPTPQIFST UIFDPODFQUPG iNVTJDBMNFBOJOHwXPVME be at most a silly metaphor. For some philosophers of music and most OFVSPTDJFOUJTUTDPODFSOFEXJUIUIFQSPCMFN IPXFWFS UIFDBTFJTOPUUIBU TJNQMF  BT JU TFFNT UIBUNVTJD BOE MBOHVBHF TIPXB MPU JO DPNNPO *O UIJTDIBQUFS *BNQSPWJEJOHBOPWFSWJFXPGTPNFQIJMPTPQIJDBMBOEOFVroscientific approaches to the musical meaning problem and trying to TIPXIPXBOVOEFSTUBOEJOHPGUIFQSPCMFNPGFYQMBOBUJPODPVMEQSPWJEF BGSBNFXPSLGPSHJWJOHUIFQSPCMFNPGNVTJDBMNFBOJOHTPNFTQBDFJO T H E C O G N I T I V E A S P E C T S O F A E S T H E T I C E X P E R I E N C E – S E L E C T E D P R O B L E M S42 UIFDPOUFNQPSBSZEFCBUFTJOQIJMPTPQIZPGNJOEDPODFSOFEXJUIUIFQPTsibility of reduction. The Problem of Musical Meaning in Philosophy 8IZEPXF MJTUFO UPNVTJD .VTJD UBLFT TVDIBO JNQPSUBOU QMBDF JO IVNBO MJGF UIBU JU TFFNTPCWJPVT JU JTBMNPTUFWFSZXIFSFBSPVOEVT'PS TPNFSFBTPO IPXFWFS IVNBOTDSFBUFNVTJDBOEMJTUFOUPJU8IBUJTUIF SFBTPO 0GDPVSTF NVTJDJTBSPVOEVTXIJMFXFEBODF JUJTQSFWBMFOUEVSJOHSFMJHJPVTPSOBUJPOBMDFSFNPOJFTFUD4PNFUJNFTXFMJTUFOUPNVTJDKVTU for the sake of listening to it. There should be some reason behind it. These considerations lay at the foundation of the musical meaning problem. *OQIJMPTPQIZ GPSDFOUVSJFT TFWFSBM RVJUFEJGGFSFOUBOTXFSTXFSFQSPWJEFEUPUIFRVFTUJPOTXIZXFMJTUFOUPNVTJDBOEXIBUNJHIUUIFNVTJDBM NFBOJOHCF4UBSUJOHGSPNTPQIJTUT XIPDMBJNFEUIBUXFMJTUFOUPNVTJD KVTU GPSQIZTJDBMQMFBTVSF TJNJMBSMZBTXFFBU GPS UIFQMFBTVSFPGFBUJOH  BOEFOEJOHPOGPSNBMJTUT BDDPSEJOHUPXIPNUIFSFJTOPNVTJDBMNFBOJOH  PS JGUIFSFJTBOZUIJOHXFMJTUFOUPNVTJDGPS JUJTJUTGPSN UIBUJT JUTTZOUBDUJDBMEFQFOEFODJFT#FUXFFOUIPTFUXPSBEJDBMWJFXTMBZTBXJEFTQFDUSVN PGUIFPSJFTBDDPSEJOHUPXIJDINVTJDIBTPS BUMFBTU DBOIBWFTPNFGPSN PGNFBOJOH)PXJTUIBUNFBOJOHEFmOFEBOEoNBZCFNPSFJNQPSUBOUMZ oIPXEPFTJUGVODUJPO SFNBJOTUIFTVCKFDUPGUIFNBJODPOUSPWFSTZ5IFSFGPSF HFOFSBMMZ XFDBOCFTQFBLJOHPGUXPNBJORVFTUJPOTXJUIJOUIFNVTJcal meaning problem: 1) Can a piece of music have a meaning? If yes,  8IBUJTNVTJDBMNFBOJOH *OUIJTGPSN UIFQSPCMFNJTCFJOHEJTDVTTFEoJNQMJDJUMZPSFYQMJDJUMZoJO UIFDPOUFNQPSBSZQIJMPTPQIZPGNVTJD5IPTFUXPRVFTUJPOTBSFOBUVSBMMZ POMZUIFQPJOUPGEFQBSUVSF IFSFJTBUFOBUJWFMJTUPGFYUFOTJPOT  8IBUJTBQJFDFNVTJD  8IBUJTBNFBOJOHPGBQJFDFPGNVTJD  8IBUEPFTJUNFBO UIBUBQJFDFPGNVTJDIBTBNFBOJOH  8IBUJTUIFNFBOJOHPGUIFXPSEiNFBOJOHwJODBTFPGNVTJD 435PN B T [  4 [ V C B S U  t  & Y Q M B O B U J P O  B O E  3 F E V D U J P O  J O  U I F  $ P H O J U J W F  / F V S P T D J F O D F    5PUIFBCPWF JUJTXPSUIUPBEEoOPUWFSZPGUFOTFFOJOUIFMJUFSBUVSFCVU JNQPSUBOUGPSUIFVOEFSTUBOEJOHPGUIFQSPCMFNoUXPGPMMPXJOHNFUBUIFPretical questions:  8IBUBSFUIFSFRVJSFNFOUTGPSBHPPEUIFPSZPGNVTJDBMNFBOJOH  8IBUJTUIFDIBSBDUFSPGNVTJDBMNFBOJOHDPOUSPWFSTZ 5IFPSEFSPGUIFTFRVFTUJPOTUPTPNFMFWFMDPSSFMBUFTXJUIUIFJSJNQPSUBODFGPSVTJOUIJTDIBQUFS2VFTUJPO	 JTCFZPOEPVSJOUFSFTUJOUIJTXPSL 'PSUIFTBLFPGTJNQMJDJUZMFUTBTTVNFUIBUBQJFDFPGNVTJDJTXIBUFWFSJT VTFEBTNVTJDBMTUJNVMJJOFYQFSJNFOUTJODPHOJUJWFTDJFODFT2VFTUJPOT	  and (4) touch the core of the problem and in this version appear often in MJUFSBUVSF NPTUDPNNPOMZUBLJOHUIFGPSNPGBEJTDVTTJPOXIFUIFSNVTJD DBONFBOTJNJMBSMZUPMBOHVBHFPSXIFUIFSUIFSFBSFFNPUJPOTFYQSFTTFE JONVTJDBOENVTJDTPNFIPXDPOUBJOTPSTUBZTJOSFMBUJPOUPUIFN*OUIJT DIBQUFS XFBSFNPTUMZDPODFSOFEXJUIRVFTUJPOT	 o	

XIJDINJHIUCF considered – at least partially – more meta-problematic, but – in the perTQFDUJWFUBLFOIFSFoQPTTJCMFBOTXFSTDPVMECFIFMQGVMXJUIFTUBCMJTIJOH BTLFUDIPGBNPEFMPGNVTJDBMNFBOJOH XIJDIXPVME JODPSQPSBUFTPNF QIJMPTPQIJDBMQFSTQFDUJWFTXJUITPNFPGUIFSFDFOUSFTFBSDIJODPHOJUJWF neuroscience. Historically speaking, the problem of musical meaning has been presFOUJOQIJMPTPQIZTJODF1ZUIBHPSBTBOEGPVOEJUTEFWFMPQNFOUJOXPSLTPG 1MBUPBOE"SJTUPUMF XIPDPOTJEFSFESFBTPOTPGXIZQFPQMF MJTUFO UPNVTJD CVUBMTPXIZDFSUBJONVTJDBMTDBMFTXPSLEJGGFSFOUMZPOIVNBOFNPUJPOTUIBOPUIFST5IFNPEFSOEFCBUF IPXFWFS JTPGUFODPOTJEFSFEUPIBWF TUBSUFEXJUIUIFGBNPVTTUVEZPG&EVBSE)BOTMJDL On the Musical Beautiful   JOXIJDIIF FYQSFTTFE UIF GPSNBMJTUJDBQQSPBDI UPNVTJD  BT opposed to the popular, rooted in romanticism, the thesis that music can FYQSFTTFNPUJPOT"DDPSEJOHUP)BOTMJDL NVTJDEPFTOPUFYQSFTT	PSFWFO XPSTUoDPOUBJO FNPUJPOT8FDBOCFTQFBLJOHPGNVTJDBTTZNCPMJ[JOH emotional qualities, as tension, surprise or calmness, but it is only an analogy, based on the fact that music contains some dynamical elements. MuTJDEPFTOPUIBWFBOZDPOUFOU BOEXIBUJTTVCTUBOUJBMPGNVTJDJTJUTGPSN As Hanslick put it referring to Gluck famous air from Orfeo ed Euridice, XIFSF0SQIFVTTJOHTi*IBWFMPTUNZ&VSJEJDF OPUIJOHFRVBMTNZNJTFSZw UIF MJOF DPVMECF TVCTUJUVUFEBTXFMMXJUI i* GPVOENZ&VSZEJDF  OPUIJOH FRVBMTNZIBQQJOFTTwBOE UIFNVTJDBM MJOFXPVME TVJU JO UIF TBNFXBZ )FODF DPODMVEFT)BOTMJDL NVTJD JUTFMGDBOOPUFYQSFTTFNPUJPOTBT UIBU XPVMEMFBEUPBDPOUSBEJDUJPO8IBUJTJNQPSUBOUJONVTJDJTUIFTUSVDUVSF T H E C O G N I T I V E A S P E C T S O F A E S T H E T I C E X P E R I E N C E – S E L E C T E D P R O B L E M S44 BOEOPUiFNPUJPOBMDPOUFOUw BTUIFMBUUFSXFDBOOPUFWFOJEFOUJGZ5IJTBOE TJNJMBSWJFXTPONVTJDBMNFBOJOH PSSBUIFS MBDLPGNVTJDBMNFBOJOH JT DBMMFEGPSNBMJTNBOEJTTUJMMBQPQVMBSWJFX BUMFBTUBNPOHQIJMPTPQIFST FH 4DSVUPO;BOHXJMM 0OUIFPUIFSFOEPGUIFTQFDUSVN XF IBWFUIFTPDBMMFEMJOHVJTUJDQBSBEJHN BDDPSEJOHUPXIJDI SPVHIMZ NVTJD JT UPTPNFFYUFOU MJLF MBOHVBHF BOENVTJDQPTTFTTNFBOJOHBT PSTJNJMBSMZUPP MBOHVBHF5IJTDPODFQUJTSPPUFEJOSPNBOUJDJTN BOEUIFWJFXPG NVTJDBTUIFiMBOHVBHFPGFNPUJPOTw*UXBTRVJUFQPQVMBSOPUPOMZBNPOH DPNQPTFSTCVU BMTPQIJMPTPQIFST 'PS FYBNQMF  4DIPQFOIBVFS GBNPVTMZ claimed: i<NVTJD>EPFTOPUFYQSFTTUIJTPSUIBUJOEJWJEVBMPSQBSUJDVMBSKPZ UIJTPS UIBUTPSSPXPSQBJOPSIPSSPSPSFYBMUBUJPOPSDIFFSGVMOFTTPSQFBDFPG NJOE CVU SBUIFS KPZ  TPSSPX QBJO IPSSPS  FYBMUBUJPO  DIFFSGVMOFTTBOE peace of mind as such in themselves, abstractly" (Schopenhauer 2011, 289). 0OFPG UIFNPTU JOUFSFTUJOHQIJMPTPQIJDBM WJFXTPONVTJDBMNFBOJOH DBOCFGPVOEJO4VTBOOF-BOHFSTXPSLPhilosophy in the New Key (1979). In the chapter devoted primarily to music and its meaning, Langer develPQFEB8JUUHFOTUFJOJBO	JF CBTFEPO5SBDUBUBSJBOUIFPSZPGNFBOJOH OPU 8JUUHFOTUFJOTWJFXTPONVTJD DPODFQUPGNVTJDBMNFBOJOH *OIFSWJFX music, similarly to language, is capable of symbolizing. The difference is UIBU XIJMF MJOHVJTUJD TZNCPMT BSF SFQSFTFOUBUJPOBM NVTJDBM TZNCPMT BSF QSFTFOUBUJPOBM  OPU EFTDSJQUJWF PS EJTDVSTJWF *O UIJTXBZ NVTJDBMNFBOJOHTBSFTZNCPMMJOH JOBNPSF JNBHJOBSZ UIBOSFQSFTFOUBUJWFXBZ&WFO though the concept of presentational symbol seems to be controversial, -BOHFSTBSHVNFOUTGPSDPOOFDUJPOPGNVTJDXJUIMBOHVBHFBSFEJTQVUFE until today and are often mentioned in discussions concerning musical meaning not only in philosophy (e.g., Koelsch 2012). *GXFBDDFQUUIBUNVTJDBOEMBOHVBHFBSFTPNFIPXDPOOFDUFE UIFOXF VTVBMMZNFBOUIBUNVTJDFYQSFTTFTTPNFUIJOH JOBXBZTPNFIPXTJNJMBS UPIPXMBOHVBHFFYQSFTTFTTPNFUIJOH0CWJPVTMZ  UIFDPOUFOUPGNVTJDBM FYQSFTTJPOXPVMEOUCFVOEFSTUPPEBTUIFDPOUFOUPGMJOHVJTUJDFYQSFTTJPO "TJOUIFTUBUFNFOUi-BQUPQJTPOUIFUBCMFw *DBORVJUFFBTJMZFYQSFTTNZ WJFXPOUIFBDUVBMTUBUFPGCFJOH JUXPVMECFIBSEUPFYQSFTTUIFTBNFCZ NFBOTPGNVTJD.VTJDBMFYQSFTTJPOTBSFPGUFOoOPUPOMZ IPXFWFSoBCPVU FNPUJPOT )FSF XF NFFU BOPUIFS EJNFOTJPO PG UIF QSPCMFN PG NVTJDBM NFBOJOH)BWJOHBHSFFEUIBUNVTJDIBTTPNFUIJOHUPEPXJUIFNPUJPOT XF OFFEUPLOPXIPXUIJTDPOOFDUJPOXPSLT5IFSFBSFTFWFSBMBOTXFSTUPUIJT QSPCMFN  UIFNBJO UXPCFJOH B  DPHOJUJWJTNBOE C  FNPUJWJTN"DDPSE455PN B T [  4 [ V C B S U  t  & Y Q M B O B U J P O  B O E  3 F E V D U J P O  J O  U I F  $ P H O J U J W F  / F V S P T D J F O D F    JOHUPDPHOJUJWJTN XFNBJOMZSFDPHOJ[FBOEVOEFSTUBOENVTJDBMFNPUJPOT  BOEBDDPSEJOHUPFNPUJWJTN XFNBJOMZGFFMFNPUJPOT JONVTJD *VTFUIF XPSEiNBJOMZwUPJOEJDBUFUIFQPJOUXIJDINBLFTUIFUIFPSJFTPGUFOPQQPTJUF JUNJHIUCFUIFDBTFIPXFWFSUIBUXFCPUIGFFMBOEVOEFSTUBOENVTJDBM emotional meanings. -FUTUIJOLPG#BDITOENPWFNFOUPGUIFEPVCMFWJPMJODPODFSUPJO% NJOPS4PNFQFPQMFXPVMEBHSFFUIBUXFDBOIFBSTPNFGPSNPGTBEOFTT )PXDBOUIJTIBQQFO 	 4BEOFTTDBOCFJONVTJDJOPUIFSXPSET NVTJD XPVMEQPTTFTTUIFTBEOFTTBTFNPUJPOBMRVBMJUZ5IJTTFFNTUPCFRVJUFJNQMBVTJCMFUIPVHI HJWFOUIBUTBEOFTTJTBLJOEPGFNPUJPO XIJDIJTBLJOE of a mental state. Other – not contradictory – possibilities: (2) The music NBLFTVTGFFMTBEPS	 8FJNBHJOFTBEOFTTPSVOEFSTUBOENVTJDBTTBE This problem is another big controversy in the contemporary philosophy of music. 4VNNJOHVQUIJTTIPSUBOETFMFDUJWFPWFSWJFX XFDBOTFFUIBUQIJMPTPQIFSTQSPWJEFEBMNPTUBMMQPTTJCMFBOTXFSTUPQSFWJPVTMZTUBUFERVFTUJPOT  starting from understanding music as not having any meanings, through GPSNBMJTN TZNCPMJTN FNPUJWJTNBOEFOEJOHXJUIDPHOJUJWJTN5IFEJTDVTTJPOJTTUJMMMJWFMZJUTFFNTIPXFWFSUIBUOPUNVDIQSPHSFTTIBTCFFOEPOF in recent years on the grounds of the philosophy of music alone. There is a vast development in music research in cognitive sciences, particularly in DPHOJUJWFOFVSPTDJFODF IPXFWFS TPNBZCFJUJTXPSUIUPMPPLPVUPGQIJMPTPQIJDBMQMBZHSPVOEGPSBXIJMF UPTFFJGBOZFNQJSJDBMSFTFBSDIDPVMEEP BOZHPPE PSBOZIBSN	BOEXIBUBTTVNQUJPOTOFFEUPCFNFUGPSUIJTUPCF possible) to any of the concepts mentioned. Some Examples of Research on Musical Meaning in Cognitive Neuroscience 0OUIFHSPVOETPGDPHOJUJWFOFVSPTDJFODF UIFSFTFFNUPCFUXPNBJO approaches to the construction of a model of processing musical meaning: TZOUBDUJDBMBOETFNBOUJDBM8IJMFCPUIBSFPCWJPVTMZ JNQPSUBOU BTCPUI BSF TIPXJOH UIF TJNJMBSJUJFT CFUXFFO MBOHVBHFBOENVTJDQSPDFTTJOH  JU seems that the semantical side might be more interesting for a philosoQIFSPGNVTJD-FUTTUBSUXJUITZOUBY IPXFWFS Fedorenko et al. (2009) offered a test of the hypothesis, according to XIJDI  MBOHVBHFBOENVTJDTIBSFDPHOJUJWFSFTPVSDFTVTFE GPSTZOUBDUJD T H E C O G N I T I V E A S P E C T S O F A E S T H E T I C E X P E R I E N C E – S E L E C T E D P R O B L E M S46 processing (SSIRH – shared syntactic integration resource hypothesis). By crossing the linguistic and musical phrases of different levels of difficulty BOPCKFDUWTTVCKFDUFYUSBDUFEDMBVTFJO&OHMJTI BOEJOLFZWTNPEJmFE FH XJUI$XJUIJO$NBKPSNFMPEZ NVTJDBMQISBTF BVUIPSTTIPXOUIBU XIJMFQSPDFTTJOHNPSFDPNQMJDBUFE	EJGmDVMU TUSVDUVSFTBUUIFTBNFUJNF  both for language and music, the understanding of the linguistic phrase ESPQTESBNBUJDBMMZ 'SPN UIJT GBDU  JUT CFFOHFOFSBMJ[FE  UIBUNJOEQPTTJCMZPQFSBUFTPOUIFTBNFSFTPVSDFT XIFOJUDPNFTUPUIFPOMJOFQSPDFTTJOHPGNVTJDBMBOEMJOHVJTUJDTZOUBY8IJMFUIJTFYQFSJNFOUTIPXTBOVOEPVCUFEMZJNQPSUBOUDPOOFDUJPOCFUXFFOMBOHVBHFBOENVTJDQSPDFTTJOH  it still is about the structural-syntactic content, and might not be interestJOHGPSTPNFQIJMPTPQIFSTDPODFSOFEXJUIUIFUSBEJUJPOBMVOEFSTUBOEJOH of "meaning". Stephan Koelsch in his earlier articles (e.g., 2004) and summarizing CPPL  EFWFMPQFEB UIFPSZPGNVTJDBMNFBOJOH XIJDI DPOUBJOTOPU only the syntactic but also the semantic element. The musical meaning, acDPSEJOHUP,PFMTDI NJHIUCFDBUFHPSJ[FEBTGPMMPXT  &YUSBNVTJDBM 1.1. Iconic musical meaning that emerges from musical information resembling sounds of objects, qualities of objects, or qualities of abstract concepts. *OEFYJDBMNVTJDBMNFBOJOHFNFSHFTGSPNTJHOBMTJOEJDBUJOHUIFJOner state of an individual. 4ZNCPMJDNVTJDBMNFBOJOHUIBUFNFSHFTGSPNBSCJUSBSZFYUSBNVsical associations; the symbolic sign quality of musical information can be conventional or idiosyncratic. 2. Intra-musical 2.1. Meaning [that] can also emerge from one musical element (or group of elements) pointing structurally to another musical element (or group of elements). 3. Musicogenic 3.1. Meaning emerging from the interpretation of physical, emotional and personality-related effects elicited by music. (Koelsch 2012, 157–177) It is important to add, that the third category – the musicogenic meanJOHoBDDPSEJOHUP,PFMTDI EPFTOUIBWFBHPPEGPVOEBUJPO JOEBUB BOE JUTSBUIFSBTQFDVMBUJWFUIFPSZ TPXFXJMMOPUJODMVEFJUJOGVSUIFSDPOTJEFSBUJPOTIFSF(JWFOUIBU XIJDIPGUIFBCPWFXPVMECFBHPPEDBOEJEBUFGPS the musical meaning that philosophers discuss? 475PN B T [  4 [ V C B S U  t  & Y Q M B O B U J P O  B O E  3 F E V D U J P O  J O  U I F  $ P H O J U J W F  / F V S P T D J F O D F    *UTFFNTUIBU	 DPOUBJOTNPTUMZUIFPOPNBUPQPFJDGFBUVSFT XIJDIJT not our main concern in here; the resemblance of music to the "qualities of abstract concepts" seems intriguing, though. If music can be of any resemblance to an abstract concept, then it might also be a bearer of an abstract NFBOJOH)PXUIJTSFMBUJPOPGSFTFNCMBODFXPSLTJTBOPUIFSRVFTUJPO   CFBST UIFNBJO TJNJMBSJUZ UP UIF DPODFQUT FYQSFTTFE CZ QIJMPTPphers, especially in the emotivist paradigm, the problem here is that the concept of "signal", rather than of "symbol" is used in the definition. The RVFTUJPO XIFUIFS TJHOBMT BT PQQPTFE UP TZNCPMT  DBO CF iNFBOJOHGVMw arises. Point (1.3) suggests the possibility of an arbitrary musical meaning, and (2.1) the syntactic, but also referential (e.g., to the other parts of a musical piece). *UTFFNTUIBUBMMUIFDBUFHPSJFTQSPQPTFECZ,PFMTDIXFSFJOTPNFXBZ TVHHFTUFECFGPSFCZQIJMPTPQIFST"MMPGUIFN IPXFWFSoBQBSUGSPN	 o BSFCBDLFECZTPNFOFVSPTDJFOUJmDEBUB'PSFYBNQMF JO CZUIFDPNparison of the electric brain activity, in reaction to the visually presented UBSHFUXPSEBOETFNBOUJDBMMZSFMBUFEBOEVOSFMBUFEMJOHVJTUJDBOENVTJDBM phrases, Koelsch and others found out that the N400 ERP is elicited. N400 JTXJEFMZSFDPHOJ[FEBTBNBSLGPSTFNBOUJDJODPOHSVJUZQSPDFTTFEJOUIF CSBJO/PXUIFRVFTUJPOBSJTFToJTUIFQSFTFODFPGTFNBOUJDJODPOHSVJUZ strong enough evidence to provide a foundation for the claim that "music can convey meaning, as language"? It seems that – currently in neurosciFODFToJUJTUIFCFTUUZQFPGFWJEFODFXFDBOIBWF Reduction and the Philosophy of Cognitive (Neuro)Science -FUTBTTVNFUIBUNVTJDBOENVTJDBMNFBOJOHTBSFNFOUBMQIFOPNFOB  BU MFBTU JO TPNFXBZT  TJNJMBS UP UIFPUIFSNFOUBMQIFOPNFOB *U TFFNT UIBUUIFDMPTFTUUPNVTJDJTUIFMBOHVBHF HJWFOJUTTZOUBY BOENPSFDPOtroversially – "semantics". As such, music and language should operate POSFQSFTFOUBUJPOT BT TFFO JO UIFTUBOEBSEPMEGBTIJPOFEWJFXPGDPHOJUJPO 8IJMFQSPWJEJOH UIF UIFPSZPG UIFSFQSFTFOUBUJPOPGNVTJDBMTUSVDUVSFTTFFNTOPUJNQPTTJCMF JUCFDPNFTQSPCMFNBUJDXIFOXFXBOUUPUBML about musical representations, similarly to the mental representations. If XFXBOUUPUBMLBCPVUNVTJDBMNFBOJOHT IPXFWFS XFOFFEUPQSPWJEFTPNF GPSNPGBSFQSFTFOUBUJPO/PX XIBUJTSFQSFTFOUFECZNVTJDBMQJFDF GSBHment or melody is another problem. Is it an aesthetic quality, e.g., beauty? T H E C O G N I T I V E A S P E C T S O F A E S T H E T I C E X P E R I E N C E – S E L E C T E D P R O B L E M S48 Is it a psychological object like emotion? Or musical quality like melody or IBSNPOZ .BZCFDPNQPTFST JOUFSOBMNFOUBM TUBUF +VTUB TUSVDUVSF  *U TFFNT BTBGPSFNFOUJPOFE UIBUCPUIQIJMPTPQIFSTBOETDJFOUJTUTEFBMXJUI these questions. So, is it possible that philosophical musical meaning is the OFVSPTDJFOUJmDNVTJDBMNFBOJOH "OE JG TP XIBU JT UIF DPOTFRVFODFPG such identity? This problem might be seen as a special case of the problem of reduction in the philosophy of science. The problem of reduction in the philosophy of science contains a set of questions concerning the relaUJPOCFUXFFOTUBUFNFOUT	BOEUIFPSJFT PGTDJFODFT	BOEOBUVSBMMBOHVBHF  In case of the reductionism concerning the language describing mental states (as representation, consciousness, but also emotion) the question is XIFUIFS UIF GPMLQTZDIPMPHJDBM  DPNNPO TFOTF JODMVEJOH  BU MFBTU TPNF  philosophical) statements describing mental states can be reduced (translated) into the statements of empirical sciences (neuroscience, but, as the final goal – physics). Most of the naturalistically oriented philosophers XPVMEXFMDPNF TPNF UZQF UIF SFEVDUJPOJTU FYQMBOBUJPO PG HJWFONFOUBM phenomena. The same should happen in the case of a reductive theory of musical meaning. One of the possibilities to provide such a reductionist apQSPBDIXPVMECFSFEVDUJPOPGNVTJDBMSFQSFTFOUBUJPOT)FSFXFHPCBDLUP QSFWJPVTMZTUBUFEQSPCMFNXIBU	JGBOZUIJOH JTSFQSFTFOUFECZNVTJD 5IF NPTUDPNNPOBOTXFSXPVMECFUIBU JU JTFNPUJPOTXIBUNVTJDTPNFIPX SFQSFTFOUT *GXFBHSFFXJUI TVDIBOBOTXFS XFNFFUBOPUIFSQSPCMFN – broadly discussed in general philosophy of psychology (e.g., Feldmann Barret 2006) – are emotions natural kinds? To provide a good reductionist UIFPSZXFOFFEUPLOPXXIBUXFBSFSFEVDJOHJGUIFPCKFDUUPCFSFEVDFE JTOPUSFDPHOJ[FEBTBOBUVSBMLJOE UIFOUIFXIPMFQPTTJCJMJUZPGUIFSFEVDtion becomes suspicious. Because of such and other methodological problems not only some philosophers but also neuroscientists (Revonsuo 2001) EPOPUBHSFFXJUIUIFSFEVDUJPOJTUBQQSPBDI FTQFDJBMMZJOUIFFYQMBOBUJPO of the higher cognitive functions. Can Musical Meaning in Philosophy Be Musical Meaning in Neuroscience? Problems and Perspectives As it has been said at the beginning of this chapter, many philosophical theories of musical meaning have been provided over centuries of QIJMPTPQIJDBM UIPVHIU(FOFSBMMZ TQFBLJOH  JGXFXFSFOPU UP JHOPSF UIF 495PN B T [  4 [ V C B S U  t  & Y Q M B O B U J P O  B O E  3 F E V D U J P O  J O  U I F  $ P H O J U J W F  / F V S P T D J F O D F    cognitive sciences, it becomes out of question that there is some connecUJPO CFUXFFONVTJD BOE MBOHVBHF0OF PG UIF QPTTJCJMJUJFT JT UIBU UIPTF UXPQIFOPNFOBPQFSBUFPOSFQSFTFOUBUJPOTBOEBTTVDIBSFoBUMFBTUUP TPNFFYUFOUoTZNCPMJD*GUIBUXPVMECFUIFDBTF UIFOTQFBLJOHPGiNVTJDBM meaning" is not that controversial as it seems to many more formalistically oriented philosophers. To create a unified theory of musical meaning is TUJMMCFIJOEUIFIPSJ[PO FWFOJGXFDPOTJEFSUIFOFXFTUSFTFBSDIJODPHOJUJWFOFVSPTDJFODF"TXFWFTFFOJOUIFFYBNQMFPGUIFUIFPSZQSPWJEFECZ Koelsch, there is a lot of data suggesting that musical meaning has many "dimensions" but some of them are still only speculative (philosophical?). *UTFFNTUIBUUPQSPWJEFBCSJEHFCFUXFFOIJHIFSBOEMPXFSMFWFMUIFPSJFT  XIBUXPVMEBMMPXVTUPiUSBOTMBUFwTPNFDPODFQUT XFOFFEUPTPMWFTFWFSBM serious problems, the most important being the question of the representational character of music and the status of emotions as natural kinds. 0OUIFPUIFSIBOE GVSUIFSXPSLJTOFFEFEUPDMBSJGZXIJDIUIFPSZPG FYQMBOBUJPODPVMECFVTFEJOPSEFSUPQSPWJEFUIFCFTUVOEFSTUBOEJOHPG the musical meaning phenomenon. It is not controversial that the classical NPEFMT BT)FNQFM0QQFOIFJNTEFEVDUJWFOPNPMPHJDBM PSTJNQMFDBVTBM NPEFMT EPOPUXPSLXFMMXIFOBQQMJFEUPUIFFYQMBOBUJPOPGUIFNJOE$VSSFOUMZ UIFNFDIBOJTUJDNPEFMQSPQPTFECZ8JMMJBN#FDIUFMJTXJEFMZVTFE to incorporate different levels of operation of the mechanism (and mind is BMTPVOEFSTUPPEBTBOFYBNQMFPGNFDIBOJTN "DDPSEJOHUP#FDIUFM "A mechanism is a structure performing a function in virtue of its component parts, component operations, and their organization. The orchestrated functioning of the mechanism is responsible for one or more phenomena" (Bechtel 2005, 423). *GXFVOEFSTUBOEUIFNJOEBOEDPHOJUJPOBTTVHHFTUFECZ UIJToWFSZ HFOFSBMoEFmOJUJPO XFNJHIUJNBHJOFUIBUNVTJDBOEMBOHVBHFBSFUXP parts of one higher level mechanism, that is, the "meaning mechanism", PSUIFNFDIBOJTNPGSFQSFTFOUBUJPO4VDINFDIBOJTNDPVMECFFYQMBJOFE on different componential levels (neurobiological, cognitive, psychological, NBZCFFWPMVUJPOBSZ CVUTUJMM TUBZTPOFNFDIBOJTN XIFSFBMMQBSUTQMBZ TPNFoUPCFEFmOFEPOBHJWFOFYQMBOBUPSZMFWFMoSPMF	OPUOFDFTTBSJMZ reducible). -PPLJOHBUPVSNBJOQSPCMFNXJUIUIFQFSTQFDUJWFPGOFXNFDIBOJDJTN  there is a chance that some of the philosophical approaches are still valid BOE XIBUTNPSF BSFOPUJODPIFSFOUXJUITPNFPGUIFOFVSPTDJFOUJmDEBUB 'VSUIFSNPSF HJWFOUIFUFOTJPOCFUXFFODMBTTJDBM	BOUJOBUVSBMJTU QIJMPTPT H E C O G N I T I V E A S P E C T S O F A E S T H E T I C E X P E R I E N C E – S E L E C T E D P R O B L E M S50 QIFSTBOEQIJMPTPQIFST TFBSDIJOH UPmOE UIFBOTXFST GPS TPNFBODJFOU QIJMPTPQIJDBMRVFTUJPOTJOUIFFNQJSJDBMTDJFODFT XIFOBQQMZJOH	BQQSPQSJBUFMZJOUFSQSFUFE OFXNFDIBOJDJTN XFNJHIUTFFUIBUTPNFPGUIFEJTcussions are referring to different levels, and some of the quarrels do not make much sense. In a very special take, such mechanicism might be antiSFEVDUJPOJTU JOUIFTFOTFUIBUUIFUSBOTMBUJPOPGUIFFYQMBOBUJPOTPGEJGGFSent levels of mechanism might not be needed, or not possible, and at the TBNFUJNFoUIFSFJTOPUIJOHUPXPSSZBCPVU0SSBUIFSUIFSFJTTPNFUIJOH UPXPSSZBCPVUPOMZJGXFCFMJFWFJOUIFPMEGBTIJPOFEVOJUZPGTDJFODF.Vsical meaning is still an open problem in both scientific and philosophical approaches and both fields can provide some insight that might be helpful UPJUTVOEFSTUBOEJOH XJUIPVUUIFOFFEPGFMJNJOBUJPOPSOFDFTTJUZPGSFEVDtion. References Bechtel 8 Abrahamsen A.  &YQMBOBUJPO"NFDIBOJTUBMUFSOBUJWFStudies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 36, 421–441. Fedorenko, E., Patel, A., Casasanto, D., 8JOBXFS, J., Gibson, E. (2009): Structural integration in language and music: Evidence for a shared system. Memory & Cognition, 37(1), 1–9. Feldmann Barret, L. (2006): Are emotions natural kinds? 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(1999): The Aesthetics of Music.0YGPSE0YGPSE6OJWFSTJUZ1SFTT ;BOHXJMM, N.  "HBJOTU&NPUJPO)BOTMJDL8BT3JHIUBCPVU.VTJDBritish Journal of Aesthetics, 44(1), 29–43.