harmony
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Harmony, in philosophy, refers to a pleasing or suitable arrangement of parts, emphasizing balance, proportion, and unity. This concept extends to peaceful coexistence and a state of consistency, where elements fit together coherently.1
In music, harmony is the simultaneous sounding of two or more notes, creating chords. While melody and rhythm can exist independently, harmony is a vertical aspect of music, built upon fundamental intervals like the octave, fifth, and fourth, discovered by Pythagoras. This understanding of numerical proportions and harmony in music influenced the concept of a harmonious cosmos, or "harmony of the spheres".23
While Western music heavily relies on harmony, many other musical cultures, such as those in India and China, primarily use unharmonized melodic lines. Chinese thought, particularly the concept of yinyang, emphasizes complementary opposites that create a dynamic, harmonious universe rather than radical separation.24
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PythagoreanismThe harmony of the cosmosā¦an intuitive feeling of the harmonia (āfitting togetherā) of the kosmos (āorder of thingsā); and the application of the tetraktys to the theory of music (see below Music) revealed a hidden order in the range of sound. Pythagoras may have referred, vaguely, to the āmusic of the heavens,ā which heā¦
Read Moreā¦an intuitive feeling of the harmonia (āfitting togetherā) of the kosmos (āorder of thingsā); and the application of the tetraktys to the theory of music (see below Music) revealed a hidden order in the range of sound. Pythagoras may have referred, vaguely, to the āmusic of the heavens,ā which heā¦
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rationalismEpistemological rationalism in ancient philosophiesā¦strings, Pythagoras held that these harmonies reflected the ultimate nature of reality. He summed up the implied metaphysical rationalism in the words āAll is number.ā It is probable that he had caught the rationalistās vision, later seen by Galileo (1564ā1642), of a world governed throughout by mathematically formulable laws.
Read Moreā¦strings, Pythagoras held that these harmonies reflected the ultimate nature of reality. He summed up the implied metaphysical rationalism in the words āAll is number.ā It is probable that he had caught the rationalistās vision, later seen by Galileo (1564ā1642), of a world governed throughout by mathematically formulable laws.
Read More