Is Some Music Inherently Evil?

How would you respond to those who say that some styles of music are inherently evil due to the “physiological response” it creates?

The physiological response that something causes will depend upon the normal environment of the person. For example, I do not eat peppers. Although I really like them, they don’t like me. As a family, we never ate peppers when I was growing up. They were not at all a part of my normal environment. Consequently, when, as an adult, I decided to give them a try, I was in for a big surprise: great flavor but an extremely unhappy digestive system. Those whose diets have always included peppers, however, do not have such a negative reaction. It is part of their normal environment. Any physiological response will be affected by the normal environment of the person.

We’ve all heard the stories of someone putting a plant in front of stereo speakers and then blaring hard rock music through those speakers. The plant, unaccustomed to such an environment, withers. However, take a seed, plant it in a pot that is continuously subjected to the same music and the plant will do just fine (assuming it is watered, given adequate sunlight, etc.). Why? Because it’s normal environment has always included that music.

Similarly, whereas my wife and I have difficulty even thinking straight when our neighbors kids play their favorite styles of music loud enough for us to hear, those same kids can sit and do homework in that same environment. It is not nerve-shattering to them. They have no adverse physiological response because it is part of their normal environment.

Some people have negative physiological responses to certain styles of music because it has not been part of their normal environment. My physiological response to peppers does not mean that peppers are inherently evil. Someone else’s physiological response to a certain style of music does not mean that the style of music is inherently evil.