The Music between Us

"Higgins' love of music and cultural variety is evident throughout. She writes in a relaxed, accessible, sophisticated style...Highly recommended."Choice From our first social bonding as infants to the funeral rites that mark our passing, music plays an important role in our lives, bringing us closer to one another. In this book, philosopher Kathleen Marie Higgins investigates this role, examining the features of human perception that enable music's uncanny ability to provokedespite its myriad forms across continents and throughout centuriesthe sense of a shared human experience. Drawing on disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, musicology, linguistics, and anthropology, Higgins's richly researched study showcases the ways music is used in rituals, education, work, and healing, and as a source of security andperhaps most importantlyjoy. By participating so integrally in such meaningful facets of society,...