Why Is There Music?

Despite the wide diversity of human behaviour, every culture shares one activity: music. Why should something whose purpose is not easy to explain be so universally embraced? How can patterns in the air explain music’s profound effect, and ability to convey the full range of emotions, from heartache to humour?

What is it that we are saying in this mysterious language? This lecture shines the lights of neuroscience, philosophy, psychology and anthropology to illuminate this ancient human obsession.