Dissertation Index
Author: Wright, James K. Title: Schoenberg, Wittgenstein, and the Vienna Circle: Epistemological Meta-Themes in Harmonic Theory, Aesthetics, and Logical Positivism Institution: McGill University Begun: September 1999 Completed: February 2002 Abstract: This study examines the relativistic aspects of Arnold Schoenberg's harmonic and aesthetic theories in the light of a framework of ideas presented in the early writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein, the logician, philosopher of language, and Schoenberg's contemporary and Austrian compatriot. The author has identified correspondences between the writings of Schoenberg, the early Wittgenstein (the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, in particular), and the Vienna Circle of philosophers, on a wide range of topics and themes. Issues discussed include the nature and limits of language, musical universals, theoretical conventionalism, word-to-world correspondence in language, the need for a fact- and comparison-based approach to art criticism, and the nature of music-theoretical formalism and mathematical modeling. Schoenberg and Wittgenstein are shown to have shared a vision that is remarkable for its uniformity and balance, one that points toward the reconciliation of the positivist-relativist dualism that has dominated recent discourse in music theory. Contrary to earlier accounts of Schoenberg's harmonic and aesthetic relativism, this study identifies a solid epistemological core underlying his thought, a view that was very much in step with Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle, and thereby with the most vigorous and forward-looking stream in early twentieth century intellectual history. Keywords: Schoenberg, Wittgenstein, Vienna Circle, Formalism, Positivism, Conventionalism, Relativism, Empiricism, Universals, Harmony, Aesthetics TOC: Chapter 1: Introduction Decline of the Quest for Universals in Twentieth-Century Music Theory Schoenberg and Wittgenstein Chapter 2: Universalism and Relativism in Schoenberg's Harmonic Theory Relativism in Schoenberg's Harmonic and Aesthetic Theories The Problem of Universals The Epistemological Foundations of Harmonic Theory: Four Propositional Categories Schoenberg's Universalism: The Icarus Principle Schoenberg's Relativism and Conventionalism: The Schenker/Schoenberg Controversy Chapter 3: Schoenberg and Wittgenstein: Positivism and the Limits of Language Language and Knowledge: Analytic Philosophy and the Vienna Circle Wittgenstein's Tractatus Wittgenstein's "Stop": The Is/Ought Dichotomy and the Limits of Language Schoenberg's "Stop": Facts versus Values in Harmonic Theory The Proper Role of Art Theory and Aesthetics: Pointing to Facts and Making Comparisons "Important Nonsense": Showing the Value of Values Equating Ethics and Aesthetics: Emphasis on Praxis over Theory Schoenberg on the Limits of Language: "O Word, Thou Word that I Lack" Wittgenstein, Schoenberg, and Schopenhauer: The Art Object Sub Specie Aeternitatis Rejecting "Heart and Brain" Dualism Chapter 4: Problems of Formalism Vienna-Circle Conventionalism: The Autonomy of Language and Logic The Autonomy of Musical Languages: Creating Worlds of Our Own Making Radical Formalism in Twentieth-Century Harmonic Theory Was Schoenberg a Radical Formalist? Wittgenstein's Grundgedanke: The Autonomy of Logic and Mathematics Music-Theoretical Formalism and the Problem of Tautology Wittgenstein's Rejection of Set Theory: Chasing Cantor and Hilbert from Paradise Logical and Mathematical Formalism as "Scaffolding" The Proper Role of Mathematical Modeling: Wittgenstein's Constructivist Viewpoint Things versus Facts and "States of Affairs": A Theory of Chords Versus a Theory of Harmony Chapter 5: Summary and Conclusions Bibliography Contact: James K. Wright 1226 Erie Avenue Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA K1V 6G6 |