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Article: The biology of music.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 12, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Music may soothe the troubled breast. It might even be the food of love. But how does it cast its spell? Romantics can take comfort from the fact that science does not yet have all the answers. But it has some
WHEN philosophers debate what it is that makes humans unique among animals, they often point to language. Other animals can communicate, of course. But despite the best efforts of biologists working with beasts as diverse as chimpanzees, dolphins and parrots, no other species has yet shown the subtleties of syntax that give human languages their power.
There is, however, another sonic medium that might be thought uniquely human, and that is music. ...