Stephen Davies (philosopher)
Encyclopedia
Stephen Davies is a professor of philosophy at the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...

, New Zealand. He mainly writes on aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...

, particularly the philosophy of music
Philosophy of music
Philosophy of music is the study of fundamental questions regarding music. The philosophical study of music has many connections with philosophical questions in metaphysics and aesthetics.Some basic questions in the philosophy of music are:...

 but also works on political philosophy. He is a past president of the American Society for Aesthetics (2007–2008), and the New Zealand division of the Australasian Association of Philosophy (2001).

One of his first journal publications was 'The Expression of Emotion in Music', published in Mind
Mind (journal)
Mind is a British journal, currently published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Mind Association, which deals with philosophy in the analytic tradition...

 in 1980 (Vol. 89, pp.67-86). In this article Davies first outlined his theory that music is expressive of emotions in virtue of resembling the way that emotions appear. This theory is similar to one outlined by Peter Kivy
Peter Kivy
Peter Kivy is a professor of philosophy at Rutgers University. He studies aesthetics and the philosophy of art, particularly the philosophy of music....

 in his book The Corded Shell, also published in 1980. However, Davies developed his view independently as an undergraduate in the 1970s, and the theory was part of his PhD thesis awarded in 1976 from the University of London. In contrast to Kivy, Davies also places a greater emphasis on the resemblance between music and physical gesture, where Kivy tends to emphasize the resemblance to the expressive vocalisations. Davies was inspired when seeing an advertisement for Hush Puppies
Hush Puppies
Hush Puppies is an international brand of contemporary, casual footwear for men, women and children. The shoes have been described as "the classic American brushed-suede shoes with the lightweight crepe sole". A division of Wolverine Worldwide, Hush Puppies is headquartered in Rockford, Michigan...

 shoes, with the thought that we recognize sadness in the face of Basset hounds
Basset Hound
The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt rabbits and hare by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound....

, despite knowing that they do not feel sad.

Davies also maintains a research interest in ethnomusicology, which he studied as an undergraduate, particularly the aesthetics of Balinese music
Music of Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island that shares in the gamelan and various other Indonesian musical styles. Bali, however, has its own techniques and styles, including kecak, a form of singing that imitates the sound of monkeys...

.

Books

  • Definitions of Art. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 1991.
  • Musical Meaning and Expression. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 1994.
  • Musical Works and Performances: A Philosophical Exploration. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2001.
  • Themes in the Philosophy of Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
  • The Philosophy of Art. Oxford: Blackwell, 2006.
  • Philosophical Perspectives on Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

External links

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