Music and Anthropogenic Climate Change: An Evolutionary Perspective

Abstract

Anthropogenic climate change (i.e., climate change generated by human activities) requires solutions that are grounded in both thoughtful analysis and emotional responses, promoting the creation of social bonding and the development of a common desire to implement changes in our personal lives and society at large. In this article, I use a biopsychosocial approach – an approach that takes into account biological, psychological, and socio-environmental factors – to study the role of music in eliciting emotions and enhancing social bonding. This approach will allow me to contextualize the role of music within the findings of current evolutionary theories of music, that is music theories that study the evolutionary function of music and show that music’s ability to unite people in the fight against climate change stems from its evolutionary role as a survival mechanism.