Philosophical and theological sources of music therapy in antiquity and the Middle Ages

Abstract

The therapeutic importance of music is a multi-faceted issue. To understand its basics, a philosophical and theological reflection is essential. Already in antiquity, there was a common belief that music had a healing effect. This is evidenced by the legacy of the Pythagorean school and great ancient thinkers, especially Plato and Aristotle. We owe their research to the first classification and systematic use in practice of certain types of music that can affect humans. One of the basic assumptions of the ancient understanding of music was the belief that it can soothe us, console us, distract us from everyday worries, as well as stimulate and lead us into a state of elation, and even madness. In this way, Greek thinkers gave a philosophical foundation to the ancient antiquity belief in the therapeutic power of music and its relationship with medicine. They formulated a cathartic (Greek katharsis) concept of music as a cleansing medicine for the human soul, giving it an ethical and educational function. Mentions about the healing nature of music can also be found in biblical accounts. The most significant figure here is King David – a ruler, warrior, but also an extremely talented poet, composer and musician, who by playing the zither soothed the attacks of Saul's frenzy. The ancient idea of musical katharsis, i.e. purification involving various aspects of human life, became the source of medieval theological and medical concepts, of which St. Hildegard of Bingen.