Epistephobia
Epistephobia
“… he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.” - Ecclesiastes 1:18
Fear of Knowing
Attempts to account for sublime experiences of music will inevitably be disappointing because they trivialize the profound. For example, biologists tell us that “love” is nature’s way of promoting pair-bonding and procreation. This may be biologically true, but it captures none of the beauty, power, and deep meaning we experience through love.
It is perfectly reasonable for a person to say “I don’t want to know about that.” “I don’t want to know how music works.”
However, curiosity is also a deeply human characteristic. It is perfectly reasonable for a person to say “I want to know about that.” “I want to know how music works.”
A common complaint is that science contributes to the “demystification” of the world. That is, knowledge makes the world less rich, less compelling, less magical, or less beautiful.
However, consider the case of modern astronomy. In ancient times, people looked up into the sky and saw all sort of mythical objects and creatures. They thought that the movement of the planets affected human behavior on earth. Modern astronomy seems to have discarded these colorful and rich ideas. But modern astronomy replaced the stories of the heavens with a different set of stories: of enormous objects at unfathomable distances, of quasars and galaxies, of black holes and big bangs. Can we really say that the stories provided by modern astronomy are less compelling, magical, or beautiful than Medieval beliefs about the heavens?
Another point of view comes from the world of theatrical magic. The famed broadway magician, Doug Henning, suggested that only the magician gets to see the true magic. Theatrical magic involves ordinary manipulation of physical objects, but done in a way that leaves viewers astonished. For the magician, there is nothing mystical about the physical objects or their manipulation: the real mystery resides in the fact that viewers can be astonished. Similarly, music is just sound — the physical jiggling of air molecules. What is astonishing is not the sound, but what it evokes in listeners. Part of understanding the magic of music, is realizing the extraordinarily pedistrian nature of sound. Like the magician, stripping away the mystification may be the first step in allowing us to see the true magic of music.
Finally, if you are worried that knowledge might somehow destroy your love of music, you may find consolation in the idea that nearly all theories are wrong. Even with the best research efforts, musical probably doesn’t work the way we think it works.
If you are truly afraid that knowledge might spoil your experience of music, then don’t engage in music research.