On Subjectivity and Objectivity in the Semiotic Inquiry of Music

This article juxtaposes the subjective and the objective in the study of musical signification. It makes an attempt at a vicious core problem of notions that are general in their essence and prevalence. The interest is driven by general trends challenging the position of research in music, semiotics, and humanities. The problem persists, for instance, in Western art music (WAM), where the performer has the task of assessing the composer’s objectives and mediating them, but with a subjective interpretation, for the breadth of the audience to experience. The gist is that the juxtaposition is a false dichotomy, resolving to moderation, as the absolute objectiveness is mollified by fallibility of inquiry and the absolute subjectiveness by the shared embodied experience of the world. This is elaborated based on classical and current pragmatist conceptions of inquiry, semiosis, embodiment, hard and soft facts, and cognitive metaphors, addressing the body-mind and the body-social problem.