Ethics

Recent histories of nineteenth-century philosophies of music have been dominated by two narratives. The first narrative, that of musical formalism, holds that philosophies of music in this period were concerned primarily with identifying a distinct sphere of musical autonomy. The second narrative, that of musical idealism, holds that philosophies of music in this period were concerned primarily with music’s perceived ability to offer insight into higher truths. This chapter contends that these narratives need to be augmented—and in some cases challenged—by an awareness of the vital role that ethics played in philosophical thinking about music across the long nineteenth century. It thus provides an alternative narrative focused on the musical-ethical thought of three key thinkers of this period: Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche.