Why Music Touches Us
Nov 11, 2005 DH, in biologicalEvolution forum On music 'touching/moving' us: Music is a human cultural-artifactual elaboration of creatures' vocal communication which is an extension-elaboration of >24 wks-old in-womb fetus' and of newborns' intimate safe/coddle/sooth experiences. Both 'touch' and 'hear' senses are founded on mechanical sensing processes involving in-cell ions leakage forming electrical action potentials interpreted neurologically. I suggest/conjecture that the same neurological constellation may be handling both 'touch' and 'hear' senses, being of commom mechanisms and differing essentially only in switch-on modes, and that this evolves in all vocal creatures in conjunction with in-womb safety, followed with baby codling/handling and vocal soothing/communicating, and later also with intimate emotional implications. Hence music has 'engulfing-touching-emotional' connotation and personal music orientation has also childhood-ethnic rootings. Dov Henis |