Evolution of Music

     Whether you are looking at gender, language, or empathy, an evolutionary perspective is always fascinating to explore.  Evolutionary in biology has always made since to me, but when it was first introduced to me as a psychological theory I was a bit skeptical.  In my ignorance it seemed a little odd to put the two together, but now it makes so much sense.  So much of what goes on in the human psyche is caused by evolution, and Marcus extended my understanding of evolutionary psychology even more during his talk at the Neuroscience banquet last week.  Both his lecture and book made a compelling argument that music has evolved similarly to language in humans.
    His point that music has evolved as a form of social cohesion resonated with me after the lecture.  Even though it is obvious that making and listening to music is often a social activity, it was interesting to hear him compare it to how language brings people together.  Without language we would not be able to build meaningful relationships or share ideas.  And Marcus pointed out that music is also important in building relationships though shared experience.  It was truly enjoyable to hear about Marcus' theory of origin of music.