From Rays to Ra

Abstract

Janna Saslaw and James Walsh speculate that repetition—as a principle central to the emergence of life—is also central to the experience of music. In addition, music, the authors argue, may be seen as providing an advantage in maintaining a state of homeostasis in individuals and in the formation of culture. Their argument involves discussions about a number of key components involved in the continuous process of developing the human species, such as self-replication, invariance, emergent structure, swarm behavior, homeostatic frames of reference, periodicity, resonance, and entrainment. The music of Sun Ra is used to exemplify the evolutionary advantage that music provides in creating more efficient homeostasis.