Music, Autonomy, and Heteronomy
Music is singular among the fine arts for its capacity to influence the human psyche. Music can generate feelings and moods, spark desires and memories, serve therapeutic purposes, and perhaps even shape character. And yet, for these reasons and others, it is wise to take care that the listener controls the music and not vice versa.
Kant famously distinguished autonomy from heteronomy. The former is the rational power by which one chooses, based on reason and not determined by any desires or other factors external to the will that might be present at the time of one’s decision, a moral maxim which, via one’s choice, would be universalized. The latter involves acting on factors external to the will, such as one’s desires, those of another, or the appeals of a thing, another person, or group.
The concern about music is that, given its sirenic quality, one might act under its control rather than listening to it as an autonomous agent.