Editing Definition of music (section)

===Clifton===
In his 1983 book, ''Music as Heard'', which sets out from the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenological]] position of [[Edmund Husserl|Husserl]], [[Maurice Merleau-Ponty|Merleau-Ponty]], and [[Paul Ricœur|Ricœur]], Thomas Clifton defines music as "an ordered arrangement of sounds and silences whose meaning is [[Presentationism|presentative]] rather than [[Denotation|denotative]] ... This definition distinguishes music, as an end in itself, from compositional technique, and from sounds as purely physical objects." More precisely, "music is the actualization of the possibility of any sound whatever to present to some human being a meaning which he experiences with his body—that is to say, with his mind, his feelings, his senses, his will, and his metabolism".{{sfn|Clifton|1983|loc=1}} It is therefore "a certain reciprocal relation established between a person, his behavior, and a sounding object".{{sfn|Clifton|1983|loc=10}}

Clifton accordingly differentiates music from non-music on the basis of the human behavior involved, rather than on either the nature of compositional technique or of sounds as purely physical objects. Consequently, the distinction becomes a question of what is meant by musical behavior: "a musically behaving person is one whose very being is absorbed in the significance of the sounds being experienced." However, "It is not altogether accurate to say that this person is listening ''to'' the sounds. First, the person is doing more than listening: he is perceiving, interpreting, judging, and feeling. Second, the preposition 'to' puts too much stress on the sounds as such. Thus, the musically behaving person experiences musical significance by means of, or through, the sounds".{{sfn|Clifton|1983|loc=2}}

In this framework, Clifton finds that there are two things that separate music from non-music: (1) musical meaning is presentative, and (2) music and non-music are distinguished in the idea of personal involvement. "It is the notion of personal involvement which lends significance to the word ''ordered'' in this definition of music".{{sfn|Clifton|1983|loc=3–4}} This is not to be understood, however, as a sanctification of extreme [[relativism]], since "it is precisely the 'subjective' aspect of experience which lured many writers earlier in this century down the path of sheer opinion-mongering. Later on this trend was reversed by a renewed interest in 'objective,' scientific, or otherwise non-introspective musical analysis. But we have good reason to believe that a musical experience is not a purely private thing, like [[seeing pink elephants]], and that reporting about such an experience need not be [[Subject (philosophy)|subjective]] in the sense of it being a mere matter of opinion".{{sfn|Clifton|1983|loc=8–9}}

Clifton's task, then, is to describe musical experience and the objects of this experience which, together, are called "phenomena", and the activity of describing phenomena is called "phenomenology".{{sfn|Clifton|1983|loc=9}} It is important to stress that this definition of music says nothing about aesthetic standards.
<blockquote>Music is not a fact or a thing in the world, but a meaning constituted by human beings. ... To talk about such experience in a meaningful way demands several things. First, we have to be willing to let the composition speak to us, to let it reveal its own order and significance. ... Second, we have to be willing to question our assumptions about the nature and role of musical materials. ... Last, and perhaps most important, we have to be ready to admit that describing a meaningful experience is itself meaningful.{{sfn|Clifton|1983|loc=5–6}}</blockquote>