Applications and Methodology

The preceding lectures exhibit a methodology in which a theory of the constitutive - of what makes something musical perception - contributes essentially to the explanation of empirical phenomena. The methodology can be applied beyond philosophical and phenomenological issues. In psychology, the constitutive theses about music perception can be applied to develop a conception of the mental representations underlying the perception of music, and to contribute to the explanation of cases of amusia. In musicology, the points of the earlier lectures can be applied to a topic in musicology that has proved vexing, viz. the proper characterization of musical styles. The points can also be applied to characterize a common explanatory structure, but with relevant differences, present in the perception of poetry and the perception of music. I conclude with some general remarks on the relation between constitutive philosophical investigation and empirical disciplines.

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