Shared Musical Lives makes the case for the epistemological and ethical significance of musical experience. Music can be a source of self-knowledge and self-expression, and hence reveal important dimensions of the self to others. This knowledge-of both self and of others-has a moral force as well. Shared musical experience can transform and establish new modes of being with others, cultivate virtues, and expand the moral imagination. The term sonification (which means translating data into non-verbal audible tones) provides an organizing principle for the arguments in the book. Transposing the concept into a philosophical key, this book explores two forms of sonification: first, the process by which musical experience reveals dimensions of the self and relationships with others; and second, philosophical sonification, or the critical examination of philosophical concepts, arguments, and theories in view of what musical experience reveals. These two kinds of sonification are discussed specifically in the context of disability. In this book, author Licia Carlson brings the musical lives of people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities into the foreground in order to challenge and broaden existing conceptions of disability and music and provide new ways of thinking about the philosophies of music and disability.

About the Author
Licia CarlsonAis Professor of Philosophy at Providence College. She is the author ofAThe Faces of Intellectual Disability: Philosophical Reflections, and has co-edited books on disability, and on phenomenology and the arts. She is widely published in the philosophy of disability, and her research interests include the philosophy of music, feminist philosophy, and bioethics. She has taught at Seattle University, Harvard University, and currently lives in the Boston area, where she is a violinist with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra.

Reviews
This beautiful, profound book explores what happens when we make music together-as composers, improvisers, performers, or listeners. We learn something about ourselves and others and, when the musical worlds we create together include people with disabilities, the knowledge we gain may be ethically important. This is a moving meditation on the power of musical experience to deepen our sense of ourselves and our common humanity. * Joseph Straus, Distinguished Professor of Music, CUNY Graduate Center *
This rich and sensitive philosophical discussion of 'musicking' brings to the fore the experience of cognitive disability. Carlson brings her important philosophical work on cognitive disability together with her own experience as a musician to create a broad ranging discussion of the importance of the 'musical we' in recognizing the humanity in the other. At the same time, she cautions us against overgeneralizations and seemingly universalizing claims that are likely to reinstate exclusions and prejudices. This is a wonderful read, full of thoughtful reflection and illuminating examples of 'the sonification' of the subject that shows us how musicking is a means to enlarge our experience of being human. * Eva Feder Kittay, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Emerita, Stony Brook University/SUNY *
Shared Musical Lives brings us a source of joy, comfort, and rejuvenation at a time when all of us need a clearer understanding of what it means to be human. Licia Carlson gives us a remarkably humane philosophical meditation on the cultural vibrancy of disability arts and its potential to infuse dignity and meaning into lives often misunderstood and underappreciated. Carlson's book calls us to witness and appreciate the political, ethical, and healing force of music for everyone. * Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Professor of English and Bioethics, Emerita, Emory University *


Awards
Winner of Winner, 2023 ASCAP Deems Taylor Award.



Book Information
ISBN 9780197618356
Author Licia Carlson
Format Hardback
Page Count 128
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 336g
Dimensions(mm) 160mm * 238mm * 15mm