Evolution of Music Appreciation

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Lokins writes: One thing that my friend suggested is that it could be a sort of side-effect of another trait that we developed.

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Richard Dawkins makes the same argument for religion. I think its logical to theorize the same for music.---------------------------------------------------------

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Dr. Adequate writes: Try asking: how does it benefit your reproduction if you play music?

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This is a good thought; however it can lead to a chicken/egg argument. The opposite sex would first have to appreciate music before it would be beneficial as a mating ritual. You probably didn't mean it this, but I thought I would bring up the point.--------------------------------------------------------------Does music appreciation have to be beneficial? It could be simply a nuetral trait that exists because nothing selected against it.If you want to theorize that music appreciation is beneficial in some way, you must start primitive...lets say with simple sounds. Are there sounds that a hunter-gatherer would benifit by being attracted to? The call of a mammoth? The sound of a deer? The coo of fowl? The symphony of a free-flowing streem? I think its reasonable to say an attraction to these noises would be beneficial to early humans. This is all that is needed for music; once early humans were able to construct primitive instruments, they could replicate the sounds they heard in nature.Cultural evolution might also play a roll. If you have read any Dawkins you may know about what he calls memes. According to dictionary.com a meme is a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes. By repeating Dawkin's idea here I have demonstrated meme theory. I replicated his idea. Other scholars will change and add to this idea and then replicate it in their own works.I propose that music appreciation is an evolutionary side-effect of higher intelligence and that it has "progressed" through cultural evolution.

Yes and no. Individual organisms do NOT evolve; they mutate. Populations evolve. When and organism mutates, its mutation is blind--it has no purpose and no intentions. However, populations evolve as the newly mutated trait is passed down over generations. A population with a trait that negatively effects breeding/reproduction will eventually be weeded out, and the population with a trait that positively effects their chance to breed will become more numbersom; nuetral traits have no effect. Music appreciation could simply be a nuetral side-effect to higher intelligence--a positive trait.I actually believe music is beneficial; I'm just pointing out that it doesn't have to be.