Music and Philosophy in the Roman Empire

Explores the philosophical import and use of musical notions in crucial moments and authors of the Roman Imperial period.

Is music just matter of hearing and producing notes? This book explores different ways in which, in the Roman Imperial period, music was rather a fundamental part of complex philosophical discourses and the object of in-depth philosophical analyses, ranging from cosmology to ethics and from epistemology to theology.Is music just matter of hearing and producing notes? And is it of interest just to musicians? By exploring different authors and philosophical trends of the Roman Empire, from Philo of Alexandria to Alexander of Aphrodisias, from the rebirth of Platonism with Plutarch to the last Neoplatonists, this book sheds light on different ways in which music and musical notions were made a crucial part of philosophical discourse. Far from being mere metaphors, notions such as harmony, concord and attunement became key philosophical tools in order to better grasp and conceptualise fundamental notions in philosophical debates from cosmology to ethics and from epistemology to theology. The volume is written by a distinguished international team of contributors.