Aristotle spoke of music as having "influence over the character and the soul." He noted that "Rhythm and melody supply imitations of anger and gentleness, and also of courage and temperance, and of all the qualities contrary to these," and that, as a result of listening to music, "our souls undergo a change."
Maybe that's one of the reasons we're not seeing the change we want in the world - because our souls aren't changing. Maybe we need more music, and the philosophy that often goes with it.
Interestingly enough, Aristotle presented this view as part of his political philosophy and within the context of educating children. (Aristotle believed that "education should be regulated by law and should be an affair of state.") It's as if he was suggesting that change must come from the young.
With that lead-in, enjoy and ponder this powerful, tearjerkeing video.
What place should music have in influencing politics? Is the world John Lennon imagined something you would prefer over today's? What prevents us from getting there? Should we encourage people in the military to listen to this song and to think about the lyrics every time they pick up a gun? Is this the ideal anthem for peace? Should musicians play a larger role in sending political messages? Do you think Glee with the members of the Haverbrook School for the Deaf choir do a better job presenting the vision of the brotherhood of man than John Lennon did? If we had more music in our lives, would we see more positive change?
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living life for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
Glee Imagine (from Glee Season 1 - Episode 11 - Hairography)
DISCUSS!
Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Sep 29, 2011 at http://www.braincrave.com/viewblog.php?id=654
We all admire beauty, but the mind ultimately must be stimulated for maximum arousal. Longevity in relationships cannot occur without a meeting of the minds. And that is what Braincrave is: a dating venue where minds meet. Learn about the thoughts of your potential match on deeper topics... topics that spawn your own insights around what you think, the choices you make, and the actions you take.
We are a community of men and women who seek beauty and stimulation through our minds. We find ideas, education, and self-improvement sexy. We think intelligence is hot. But Braincrave is more than brains and I.Q. alone. We are curious. We have common sense. We value and offer wisdom. We experiment. We have great imaginations. We devour literacy. We are intellectually honest. We support and encourage each other to be better.
You might be lonely but you aren't alone.
Sep, 2017 update: Although Braincrave resulted in two confirmed marriages, the venture didn't meet financial targets. Rather than updating our outdated code base, we've removed all previous dating profiles and retained the articles that continue to generate interest. Moving to valME.io's platform supports dating profiles (which you are welcome to post) but won't allow typical date-matching functionality (e.g., location proximity, attribute similarity).
The Braincrave.com discussion group on Second Life was a twice-daily intellectual group discussions typically held at 12:00 PM SLT (PST) and 7:00 PM SLT. The discussions took place in Second Life group chat but are no longer formally scheduled or managed. The daily articles were used to encourage the discussions.