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For centuries, philosophers have got music wrong by making it mysterious, says Lydia Goehr, professor of philosophy at Columbia University in New York. What really matters is what we do with the music. In this Aeon interview, Goehr explains how understanding music’s functions gives insights into its power without diminishing its beauty.
Interviewer: Nigel Warburton
Producer: Kellen Quinn
Editor: Adam D’Arpino
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Animals and humans
The wild tale of a young animal keeper, an angry tiger and a torn circle net
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Beauty and aesthetics
Can you see music in this painting? How synaesthesia fuelled Kandinsky’s art
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Knowledge
Why it takes more than a lifetime to truly understand a single meadow
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War and peace
‘She is living on in many hearts’ – Otto Frank on the legacy of his daughter’s diary
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Art
Why Diego Velázquez needed a lifetime to paint his enigmatic masterpiece
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Political philosophy
The radical activist couple who fought for social change in the courtroom
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Technology and the self
A haunting scene from ‘Minority Report’ inspires a voyage into time and memory
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Family life
The stream-of-consciousness thoughts and memories that emerge while cooking a meal
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Human rights and justice
Can providing humanitarian aid be illegal? A troubling case from the US-Mexico border
17 minutes