Logos In The Cosmos

Isn't it strange how miscellaneous bits and pieces contribute to our overall sense of who we are? I first saw the doodle above on the blackboard in some unremembered philosophy class. The unremembered professor of the unremembered course drew the doodle as a toss-off joke. The only thing that I remember about the class is this doodle! The professors point was that rationality (logos) is a very small component of the Universe (cosmos).

If fact, it is possible to make a very good argument that "rationality" is not an inherent attribute of anything. That it is we, ourselves, who impose rationality upon what is essentially an order-less chaos! That "rationality" is a tool that we have developed to help us protect ourselves from the dangers of an unpredictable existence, and that we attempt to impose rationality upon every aspect of reality because it gives us the illusion that we are in-control, that we can predict and influence the future, and are therefore "safe".

Over the next few posts, I am going to take the hypothesis that "order" and "predictability" are inherent human values that are ingrained deep within our very essence. I intend to explore the implications that this concept may have to the art of music. Although this may seem to be a bit esoteric, I believe that there are some simple and direct lessons that are directly applicable to the performance of music.

Jim