Re: Difference between cognition and perception?

[Eliot Handelman <eliot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Martin Braun wrote:

> As I had written, "cognition is not needed". It can occur, of course.
Dear Martin,

As I've already suggested, the perception of ANY kind of temporal
relation must involve memory and comparison. Among the simplest is the
detection of pulse or meter. No necessary cognition? no sense of
pulse.

Are you suggesting that sense of pulse is also not needed to enjoy
metered music?
Or that pulse detection isn't cognitive?

You may be using the word "cognition" here to mean what's usually
called "music appreciation" -- being able to say things like "that
piece is in ABA form," or something similar. I agree that no one NEEDS
to know this kind of detail in order to enjoy music. Indeed students
taking music appreciation courses, who must be examined on this sort
of lifeless grind, often feel that it detracts from the emotion and
mystery that they otherwise experience in music. But this doesn't mean
that there's no information-processing taking place, though
potentially at a very fine-grained level.


-- eliot