1. Excluded middle
A musical score is a string of symbols and signs
that in the hands of a capable interpreter
may evoke any of the following:
profound emotional trauma,
mild amusement, hysterical rage,
or nothing at all. We shall provide proof
that a gifted voice1 may help its audience to know
their shared anxiety and pleasure,
the uncertainty of Truth,
memories of grief and love,
and all or none of the above.
Suppose set A is the audience of the gifted voice
and predicate R(x) means ‘person x endures revelation’, then:
∀x∈A, R(x) ∨ ¬R(x) ∨ (R(x) ∧ ¬R(x))
Thus a score may be divine inspiration
or something from which we might do so.
2. Identity
Now replace musical score
with logical notation, critical theory, metaphysics, a poem, or bullshit,
and notice that they can all be performed to the same accompaniment
and therefore imply the same harmony.2 Q.E.D.
3. Non-contradiction
We present without evidence the following corollary:
A word’s relation to its referent
plays the same fleeting role as a note in its chord or melody.
But we confess to being unable to hear, say, fascism, in a major key.
1 And dutiful accompanist.
2 Reductio ad absurdum3
3 From Latin, absurdus: ‘unmusical, out of tune, discordant; senseless’
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