Education, Civilization, and Music

Carson Holloway
S
houl d educat i on civilize? I wish to offer a Pl at oni c answer to this quest i on.
I will surpri se no one by cl ai mi ng t hat t he answer, accor di ng to Pl at o' s
Republic, is yes: educat i on shoul d civilize. It is surpri si ng, however, to suggest
t hat for Pl at o t he pr oper educat i on in musi c is cruci al to civilization, to t he
civilizing of t he huma n soul. In what follows I will out l i ne t he Republic's ac-
count of t he civilizing educat i on in music, expl ai n why such an educat i on seems
so f or ei gn to t he mode r n mi nd, and make t he case for its c ont e mpor a r y rel-
evance despi t e its st rangeness to us.
I.
In its or di nar y meani ng, to civilize is to pr epar e s ome one for decent , peace-
able, and manner l y living with ot hers. Thi s meani ng is i mpl i ed by t he literal
sense of t he t er m' s appar ent Lat i n root . Civilization has s omet hi ng to do wi t h
civilis, with t he t hi ngs rel at i ng to t he citizen, t he civis. It is a process of pr epar a-
t i on for citizenship, for living with one' s fellow citizens accor di ng to t he laws,
wri t t en and unwri t t en, of t he political communi t y. The t er m also has a loftier,
t hough per haps rel at ed, meani ng: to refi ne t he mi nd by fost eri ng a rat i onal
at t achment to el evat ed t hi ngs t hat are pr oper l y l oved for t hei r own sake.
Pl at o' s Republic suggests t hat t he pr oper educat i on in musi c is essent i al to
t he process of civilization in bot h of t hese senses. Thi s concer n first emer ges
in t he Republic's account of t he guar di an class of t he city in speech, t hose who
fi ght for t he city and enf or ce its laws. As warri ors t hey will have to be spi ri t ed.
Yet this creat es t he pr obl emat i c possibility t hat t hey will be savage, bot h with
each ot her and with t he ot her member s of t he city. It is necessary, t her ef or e,
to combi ne t hei r spi ri t edness with gent l enes s - - t o civilize t hem.
This t emper i ng of t he guar di ans' spi ri t edness is br ought about by an educa-
t i on in poet r y and music. Exposur e to beaut i f ul st ori es about civilized men
t ends to have a civilizing effect. For Pl at o' s Socrat es, however, it is not so much
t he stories of t he good city' s poet r y as t he psychol ogi cal and emot i onal power
of mus i c - - unde r s t ood as r hyt hm and ha r mony- - t ha t is f undament al to t he
civilization of t he guardi ans. Thus Socrat es claims t hat t he r ear i ng in musi c is
"most soverei gn" because of r hyt hm and har mony' s power "vi gorousl y [to] lay
hol d of t he soul. ''~ Rhyt hm and har mony, t he Republic suggests, are imitative.
That is, t hey depi ct t he vari ous passi ons and states of charact er. Thus Socrat es
Carson Holloway teaches political philosophy and constitutional law at the University
of Nebraska at Omaha. His All Shook Up: Music, Passion, and Politics was released by
Spence Publishing in 2001.
85
86 Academic Questions / Fall 2004
speaks of wailing and l ament i ng modes, and modes appropri at e to dr unken-
ness (both of which he disapproves), as well as modes depi ct i ng reasonable-
ness and courage (both of which he approves).
Music does not merel y depi ct states of character, however. It actively im-
presses t hem upon the soul. As is said in the Laws, "the imitation in songs" can
"make the soul feel passions. ''2 This is t rue of all the arts. Hence Socrates'
concer n that the young, t hrough "grazing" on works of art that have a "licen-
tious, illiberal, and graceless" appearance will unknowingly create some great
evil in their souls, and his concomi t ant hope that those sur r ounded by grace-
ful images will be led to a likeness and fri endshi p with reason. Of all artistic
images, however, music has the greatest power, t hrough its grace or graceless-
ness, to foster a good or bad disposition in the soul. Rhyt hm and harmony,
Socrates cont ends, "most of all insinuate themselves into the i nmost part of
the soul and most vigorously lay hol d of it in bri ngi ng grace with them; and
they make a man most graceful if he is correctly reared, if not, the opposite. ''~
The "graceful" charact er fostered by the music of the Republic, it turns out,
is charact eri zed chiefly by a kind of moderat i on. Indeed, on the most general
level, Socrates' approach to music is to banish whatever savors of excessive
passion and to retain whatever communi cat es a repose of the desires and hence
the command of reason in the soul. Thus he sums up his approach by saying
that it eschews the music of Marsyas, the Dionysian reveler, for that of Apollo,
the god of t rut h and light (399e).
In what sense does this musical educat i on civilize? The Republic's account
suggests two answers. In the first place, Plato's Socrates indicates that the ma-
ture human bei ng f or med by such an educat i on is prepared for citizenship in
a decent and orderl y regime. Those who receive a proper reari ng in rhyt hm
and harmony, those whose tastes are f or med by graceful music, have the right
likes and dislikes. They praise the noble and blame and hate the ugly. Thus
the Republic's musical education produces "gentlemen, " those who are attracted
to virtue and repel l ed by vice, and who t herefore are capable of being j ust
voluntarily (402a).
A good reari ng in music, again, fosters moderat i on. A lack of such rear-
i ng--or, perhaps worse, a reari ng in wildly passionate musi c--fost ers i mmod-
eration. On Plato' s account of the soul and the city, however, i mmoder at i on is
the source of injustice and civic discord. Book IX's account of the unjust meth-
ods adopt ed by the tyrannical soul in its pursuit of unlimited gratification makes
this clear. Conflict is the inevitable result of having a communi t y of such people,
each seeking to gratify himself at the expense of the rest. Such citizens lead
lives dedi cat ed to feedi ng and copulating, and "for the sake of these things,
they kick and but t with horns and hoofs of iron, killing each ot her because
they are insatiable"(586a-b). Indeed, such human beings are not citizens at
al l - - and t herefore not civilized--because their preoccupat i on with their own
Iannone, Bauerlein, Pattison, Sears, and Hol l oway 87
gain makes impossible any principled concern for the common good, the things
of the city.
Nor, on Plato' s account, is t here a conveni ent non-musical solution to the
barbarism arising from i mmoderat i on. At first sight it seems that law can re-
place musically-formed character. If gent l emen do not requi re law because of
their habitual love of virtue, t hen perhaps non-gent l emen can be rest rai ned
by the power of law. This solution proves illusory, however. Non-musical, vi-
cious citizens try to contain the conflicts caused by t hei r injustice by "continu-
ally setting down. . . rul es and correct i ng them, t hi nki ng they' ll get ahol d of
what' s best." But trying to restrain by laws men who cannot restrain them-
selves is, Socrates says, "like cutting off the heads of a Hydra": it is "useless and
accomplishes nothing, " ot her t han "to make their illness more compl i cat ed
and bigger" (425e-426a).
Plato' s account points, moreover, to anot her sense in which a musical for-
mat i on in moderat i on civilizes, the second sense of civilization ment i oned
before: the fostering of a rational attraction to elevated things loved for their
own sake. For accordi ng to the Republic, the proper reari ng in music prepares
the soul for philosophy. It civilizes not only by maki ng us fit to be citizens of a
decent earthly regime, but also by equi ppi ng us to be citizens of the cosmos,
love-struck cont empl at ors of the beautiful or der of the whole. Thus Socrates
remarks that the philosophic part of the soul is "awakened" and "trained" and
has its "perceptions purified" t hrough partaking of music, while, conversely,
one who neglects "music and philosophy" becomes a "misologist," a hat er of
reason, and "unmusical" (41 l d ).
The Republic suggests two ways in which the reari ng in music prepares the
soul for philosophy. First, philosophy requires a certain moderat i on. Socrates
compares the desires of the body to "leaden weights" which t urn the vision of
the soul downward and away from the things that truly are, the objects of
philosophic investigation and cont empl at i on (519a-b). Yet, as we have seen,
music can quiet such desires, desires that distract reason from its t rue voca-
tion. Moreover, and more positively, music can foster in the soul an attraction
to the t rut h that philosophy seeks. The graceful music of the best city presents
the soul with a kind of intelligible and beautiful order, and, by its grace and
the natural pleasure that accompani es it, such music fosters a lasting taste for
such beautiful order. Yet this ultimately is the object of philosophic longing,
accordi ng to the Republic:. The philosopher, Socrates says, keeps company "with
the divine and orderly," the beautiful or der of the cosmos (500c-d). Indeed,
the kinship between the intelligible order of music and the natural or der of
the universe is indicated by Plato' s poetic depi ct i on of the cosmos as a set of
revolving whorls ri dden by sirens emitting pitches that combi ne to form a
single har mony (617b).
88 Academic Questions / Fall 2004
II.
This Pl at oni c under s t andi ng of educat i on as civilization is i ncreasi ngl y alien
to t he mode r n mi nd. Hardl y any cont empor ar y educat i on- - pr i mar y, second-
ary, or uni ver si t y- - seeks to civilize souls as Plato under s t ands t hat proj ect . Ac-
cor di ng to t he Republic, a pr oper l y educat ed soul desi res goodness and t r ut h
for t hei r own sakes. A musi cal l y civilized huma n bei ng is in love with moral i t y
and phi l osophy because of t hei r beauty. In cont rast , most mode r n educat i on
is pr eoccupi ed with utility. It offers i nt el l ect ual "skills" or "tools" whi ch are not
to be exer ci sed for t he sake of t hei r own i nher ent goodness but with a view to
achi evi ng some ot her - - us ual l y mat er i al - - ends.
What is t he cause of this mode r n rej ect i on of t he Pl at oni c account of educa-
tion? We may be t empt ed to bl ame t he smal l - mi ndedness of admi ni st rat ors,
many of whom are not t hemsel ves scholars, or of t he business l eaders who
wield such i nf l uence on gover ni ng boards. "What do such vul gari ans know of
liberal educat i on, educat i on t hat is free in t he sense of bei ng free f r om neces-
sity, t hat does not desi re knowl edge for what can be done with it but simply
loves it for itself?." Whi l e such an expl anat i on may gratify t he schol ar' s sense of
i nt el l ect ual and mor al superiority, it is not adequat e. Rather, accor di ng to
Tocqueville, t he mode r n decay of civilizing educat i on results not f r om t he
defect s of part i cul ar groups, but f r om t he mode r n social state itseit, not f r om
t he vulgarity of cert ai n kinds of peopl e, but f r om t he vulgarity of democracy.
The democr at i c social state is charact eri zed, Tocqueville cont ends, by "equal-
ity of condi t i ons, " t hat is, by t he absence of a her edi t ar y ari st ocrat i c class se-
cur e in its weal t h and status. Once t he law of pr i mogeni t ur e is abol i shed, gr eat
f or t unes are di vi ded i nt o smal l er ones i nsuffi ci ent to sustain t hei r possessors.
The resul t is a middle-class nat i on, a nat i on of peopl e obl i ged to work. In an
aristocracy, political and cul t ural power are wi el ded by, and t her ef or e t he t one
of society is set by, l ei sured men. A democracy, on t he ot her hand, is r ul ed by
necessi t ous men, me n c onc e r ne d with utility. I ndeed, Tocquevi l l e cont ends
t hat mat eri al i sm is one of t he democr at i c man' s domi nant passions. Aristoc-
racy suppresses mat eri al i sm by maki ng nobles take physical comfort s for gr ant ed
and by maki ng peasant s despai r of enj oyi ng t hem, f i eei ng t he affect i ons of
bot h to at t ach t hemsel ves to ot her t hi ngs- - pol i t i cs and cul t ure in t he case of
nobles, piety and t he next life in t he case of t he peopl e. By its abol i t i on of a
her edi t ar y social hi erarchy, however, democr acy bot h l i berat es t he peopl e' s
l ongi ng for physical well-being and destroys t he weal t hy' s securi t y in t hei r well-
bei ng. It creates, again, mi ddl i ng fort unes, enough for most peopl e to get a
taste for comf or t , but not enough to satisfy t hat taste. But it is preci sel y such
condi t i ons t hat fost er an obsessi on with physical well-being. The soul is most
agi t at ed, accor di ng to Tocqueville, not by t he easy possession of comf or t s but
by t hei r i mper f ect possession and t he fear of l osi ng t he m?
Democr acy' s ut i l i t ari an and mat eri al i st i c spirit, mor eover , i nf l uences its
under s t andi ng of t he goods at whi ch a Pl at oni c educat i on aims: mor al and
Iannone, Bauerl ei n, Pattison, Sears, and Hol l oway 89
i nt el l ect ual vi r t ue. It goes wi t hout sayi ng t hat Pl at o woul d not si mpl y e n d o r s e
t he c h a r a c t e r o f t he h e r e d i t a r y ar i s t ocr at as Tocquevi l l e des cr i bes it. Never-
t hel ess, t hat ar i s t ocr at at l east nat ur al l y a ppr oxi ma t e s t he c h a r a c t e r of t he Pla-
t oni c g e n t l e ma n p r o d u c e d by t he p r o p e r r e a r i n g i n mus i c. Ar i s t oc r a t s ,
Tocquevi l l e not es, speak i nces s ant l y of t he beaut y of vi r t ue, sayi ng little or
n o t h i n g a bout its utility. Becaus e of t he i r di s dai n f or what is me r e l y usef ul ,
t hey have a na t ur a l a d mi r a t i o n f or t he phi l os ophi c pur s ui t of t r ut h f or its own
sake. De moc r a t s , on t he o t h e r ha nd, habi t ual l y j ust i f y mor al i t y i n t er ms of its
n o n - mo r a l benef i t s. Thus Tocquevi l l e r e ma r ks t hat t he mos t c o mmo n , a nd
mos t per suasi ve, mor al i t y wi t hi n d e mo c r a c y is bas ed on " t he d o c t r i n e of self-
i nt er es t pr ope r l y unde r s t ood, " or t he not i on t hat he l pi ng ot he r s will i n t he
l ong r u n r e d o u n d t o one ' s own mat er i al benef i t . 5 Similarly, t he or e t i c a l sci-
e n c e - t h a t is, cont empl at i ve sci ence, sci ence t hat si mpl y seeks i nsi ght i nt o t he
nat ur e of t hi ngs- - i s negl ect ed by democr acy, whi ch i nst ead excel s at t echnol ogy,
or t he use of knowl edge f or t he sake of physical well-being a nd conveni ence. 6
I I I .
I f a Pl at oni c ci vi l i zi ng e d u c a t i o n is so f u n d a me n t a l l y al i en to t he spi ri t o f
mo d e r n de moc r a c y, i f it in f act savors of ari st ocracy, s houl d we t h e r e f o r e aban-
don s uch e duc a t i on as a me r e vest i ge of an unj us t past t hat we have pr ope r l y
r ej ect ed a nd happi l y sur passed? I d o n ' t t hi nk so. J us t be c a us e s o me t h i n g is
al i en t o d e mo c r a c y does not me a n t hat it c a n n o t be usef ul t o de moc r a c y. In-
de e d, n o n - d e mo c r a t i c pr i nci pl es ma y be usef ul pr eci sel y be c a us e d e mo c r a c y
is not sel f-suffi ci ent . It may be, as Tocquevi l l e hi ms e l f suggest s, t hat d e mo c -
racy, des pi t e its e vi de nt benef i t s, ne ve r t he l e s s has s ome d a n g e r o u s a n d de hu-
ma ni z i ng t e nde nc i e s t hat ar e i n n e e d of c o r r e c t i o n by c e r t a i n n o n - d e mo c r a t i c
pr i nci pl es. To e mb r a c e s uch an u n d e r s t a n d i n g , one n e e d not be an ant i - demo-
cr at i c i de ol ogue ; o n e n e e d onl y f ol l ow Tocquevi l l e i n r esi st i ng t he t e mpt a t i on
to be a d e mo c r a t i c i de ol ogue .
The Republic pr es ent s t he mus i cal ci vi l i zat i on of t he soul not as an art i fi ci al
i mpos i t i on on, but i ns t ead as a f ul f i l l ment of, h u ma n na t ur e . It is pa r t of a
t u r n i n g of t he soul t owar d t he t hi ngs f or whi c h it t r ul y l ongs. Musi c does not
l e nd to vi r t ue a n d phi l os ophy a be a ut y t hat t hey do not by n a t u r e possess.
Ra t he r it is t he soul ' s first i nt r oduc t i on t o t hat beaut y. Reas on desi r es t he gr ace-
ful o r d e r of vi r t ue a n d t r ut h, a n d mus i c pr ovi des t he soul wi t h a pr e- r at i onal ,
but pal pabl e a n d power f ul , i nt i ma t i on of t hat or der . Mor eover , r e a s on is, on
Pl at o' s u n d e r s t a n d i n g , t he mos t aut hor i t at i ve e l e me n t i n o u r na t ur e . It, mo r e
t ha n a nyt hi ng el se i n us, is o u r t r ue self; h e n c e its sat i sf act i on is ul t i mat el y t he
g o o d of t he e nt i r e soul . Th u s mus i c' s qui e t i ng o f t he l ower passi ons doe s not
me r e l y cons t r ai n t he soul , but i ns t ead allows its ot her , mo r e wor t hy desi r es t o
c o me to t he f or e.
On this view, d e mo c r a c y is s o me wh a t pr obl e ma t i c . It is unque s t i ona bl y a
l i b e r a t i o n - - f r o m u n t h i n k i n g a c c e p t a n c e of t r adi t i on, f r o m c o n f i n e me n t t o
90 Ac ade mi c Que s t i ons / Fall 2004
t he soci al st at us o f o n e ' s par ent s , a bove all f r om b e i n g r u l e d by ot he r s wi t hout
o n e ' s c ons e nt . Yet t hi s l i be r a t i on is p u r c h a s e d at t he pr i ce o f a cer t ai n di st or -
t i on o f t he soul . Th e ri se o f d e mo c r a t i c ma t e r i a l i s m a n d ut i l i t ar i ani s m is, i n
t he l a ngua ge o f t he Re p u b l i c , a t u r n i n g of t he soul away f r om t he t hi ngs t hat
ar e t o t he t hi ngs t hat c o me t o be a n d ceas e t o be, f r om b e i n g t o b e c o mi n g ,
f r o m t hi ngs t hat ar e beaut i f ul t o b e h o l d t o t hi ngs me r e l y pl e a s a nt t o c o n s u me .
Mor eover , havi ng a n a t u r e - - a n es s ence t hat exi st s i n d e p e n d e n t o f t he hab-
its f os t e r e d by pr evai l i ng soci al c o n d i t i o n s - - t h e s oul mus t e x p e r i e n c e its dis-
t or t i on as s o me h o w pai nf ul a nd f r ust r at i ng. De moc r a t i c ma n may l ove physi cal
wel l - bei ng a bove all t hi ngs, b u t d e mo c r a t i c ma n is still ma n, a nd ma n shal l n o t
live by b r e a d al one. De mo c r a t i c mat er i al i s m is, on Pl at o' s a c c ount , si mpl y t he
popul a r i z a t i on o f t he soul o f t he t yr ant who lives f or t he sake o f his desi r es. Yet
t ha t life is uns at i s f yi ng even t o t he o n e wh o pur s ue s i t mo s t vi gor ousl y. Th e
t yr ant ' s soul , Socr at es says, is ful l o f s uf f er i ng be c a us e it is ful l o f a noi sy "cr owd"
o f des i r es t hat "cr y out " f or sat i sf act i on. At t he s a me t i me it is "full o f conf u-
si on a n d r egr et " b e c a u s e it l east doe s "what it wa n t s - - s p e a k i n g o f t he soul as a
whol e. ''7 Tha t is, t he t yr ant ma y s uppr es s , b u t c a n n o t ext i ngui s h, his r eas on,
a nd he c o n s e q u e n t l y c a n n o t e s c a pe t he pai nf ul s el f - knowl edge t hat he lives
f or a nd is r u l e d by t he wor s t e l e me n t s i n his nat ur e.
Thi s Pl at oni c u n d e r s t a n d i n g i nf or ms Tocquevi l l e' s a c c o u n t o f de moc r a c y.
Mos t Amer i cans , he obs er ves , ar e g l o o my a n d une a s y even i n t he mi ds t o f
u n p r e c e d e n t e d pr osper i t y. Thi s is a nat ur al r es ul t o f d e mo c r a t i c mat er i al i s m.
Me n wh o l ove physi cal c omf or t s a bove all t hi ngs will o f neces s i t y s p e n d t hei r
lives de s pe r a t e l y s e e ki ng shor t - cut s t o pl eas ur es , t he t i me f or whi ch t hey know
is c ont i nua l l y r u n n i n g out . A f ew Amer i cans , on t he o t h e r ha nd, gi ve t hem-
sel ves t o bi zar r e a n d s o me t i me s d a n g e r o u s r el i gi ous ent hus i as ms . Thi s is t he
oppos i t e , b u t equal l y pr e di c t a bl e , o u t c o me o f d e mo c r a t i c mat er i al i s m. St ar ve
t he soul , a n d you ri sk dr i vi ng it i nt o a spi r i t ual bi nge. 8
I n c onc l us i on, mo d e r n d e mo c r a c y - - u n t e mp e r e d by p r e - mo d e r n a nd non-
d e mo c r a t i c pr i nc i pl e s - - wi l l ma ke mos t o f us u n h a p p y a n d dr i ve a f ew o f us
crazy. Tha t is why Pl at o' s u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f e duc a t i on as a civilizing i nt r oduc t i on
t o t he be a ut i f ul a n d n o b l e is still r el evant de s pi t e b e i n g f or e i gn t o us.
N o t e s
1. Republic, 401d-e. All references to The Republic are to Allan Bloom's translation (New
York: Basic Books, 1968).
2. See 812c of The Laws, trans. Thomas Pangle (NewYork: Basic Books, 1980).
3. Republic, 401b-e. Ensuing references to Bloom's translation will be cited in the text.
4. See Democracy i n America, Volume II, Part II, Chapter 10.
5. Democracy in America, Volume II, Part II, Chapter 8.
6. Democracy in America, Volume II, Part I, Chapter 10.
7. Republic, op. cit., 573e, 577e.
8. Democracy in America, Volume II, Part II, Chapters 12 and 13.