Assignment #6 - Philosophy and the Analysis of Music by Lawrence Ferrara CHAPTER FIVE

Emily R. E. Baron 

N10038026

Educational Theatre

Spring 2009

E85.1505.001 - The Performing Arts in Western Civilization

SUMMARY

Chapter 5 presents a significant shift in Heidegger's views from his talks of Dasein to his analysis of the future and how one needs to be open in order to discover Being-ness. This being open, or waiting, depends alot on the person's state of mind and being. They need to not be expecting something to occur, yet they always need to be active. If they are open and patient, then something natural and truthful will develop. 

 Heidegger turns to art in "On the Origin of the Word of Art" and defines it as, "all art forms." Describing art, he says that at a first glace, the work seems to come right from the artist. The work the artist creates makes him what he is, showing that the work is the origin of the artist therefore being that "the artist is the origin of the work...From it, both artist and work of art extract their nature." Creating the outside environment in which someone or something bees is an important part of Heidegger's philosophy. The environment defines where everything about the artist and artwork comes from. This is broadened even further when Heidegger introduces the roles of the outside world and earth. In his opinion, just like the materials are encompassed within the work of art, so is the earth contained within the world. Just like waiting and openness plays an important role to man, so does it for the world and the earth. If both are open, both are able to "be". 

From art Heidegger makes a transition to poetry, which he calls the most original of arts. For Heidegger, using the language of poetry helps define what language is and how it's used to define the outside world. It is because of language that things are able to "be" and express ourselves. Without language, according to Heidegger, there would be not art. 

PERSONAL REACTION

In my opinion, this has been one of the more interesting chapters to date. What really interested me the most was in fact at the end of the chapter when Heidegger states that without language, there would be no art. This actually started to make me think about cave drawings and the first people who lived on this earth. Of course, I don't know what came first, art or language, but it seems to me that those people painted what they saw around them, and possibly from there tried to describe what they drew to others. I agree with Heidegger that one couldn't live without the other, but what of they both developed at the same time? It would be an interesting topic to further explore...