The metaphoric language of music in the constitution of ethos

Abstract

Among Brazilian scholars, the author of Letter on French Music is not usually studied considering the philosophical interest aroused by Music; however, this area has never ceased to be part of his intellectual concerns. In the mid-twentieth century, the critical tradition of Rousseaunian studies brings to light some of the writings on Music and raises the problem of the insertion of Music in Rousseau’s work as a whole. The discussion to guide the text presented here aims to determine whether, and to what extent, Plato’s thought on Music could have been an inspiration source for the elaboration of the notion of Music in J.-J. Rousseau’s thought. Rousseau’s notion of Music has a similar configuration to that of Ancients’ mousiké, since it is not restricted to a mere phenomenon perceptible by hearing, but is defined by its articulation with the ethos, transmuting itself into a principle capable of supporting both in their theories on Music and on Ethics and Politics.