Book 8: Chapter 2, Music & Cultural Refinement Summary and Analysis

Music is introduced as one of the arts which leisure time is intended to produce. Aristotle discusses cultivating the ability to create structured music and the extent to which it has an important social role. He shows the need for people to learn the skills for making music and then making it during leisure time. While initially he does not stress this, it rapidly grows apparent that he means to strongly encourage the discipline required to play instruments and to write music and for this reason he argues that making music is not "playing" even though it is also not working.

That is one reason the philosopher reviews the role of musical education within the city-state. Soon thereafter, he follows into a discussion of whether or not music can contribute to the development...