Origin of music and embodied cognition

[摘要] Music is a poorly understood ability. Its strong power over humans, its origin and cognitive function, have been a mystery for a long time. Aristotle (1995) listed the power of music among the great unsolved problems. Darwin wrote (1871) that musical ability “must be ranked amongst the most mysterious with which (man) is endowed.” Nature published a series of essays on music (Editorial, 2008). The authors of these essays agreed that “none… has yet been able to answer the fundamental question: why does music have such power over us?” (Ball, 2008).

[学科分类] 心理学（综合）

[关键词] music origin;cognitive dissonance;musical emotions;embodied cognition;hierarchy of the mind;abstract thoughts;knowledge instinct