Matthew Del Nevo – författare

Listening to music is not merely something one does, but something central to a way of living. Listening has the power to transport one into another way of being. It is a mode of feeling and forms the bedrock of deep emotion. Written from the viewpoint of a philosophy of sensibility, Matthew Del Nevo notes that this perspective may not be in fashion, but it follows a long tradition.Del Nevo emphasizes the aesthetic experience of listening to art music as it has developed and disintegrated in Western civilization. He recognizes a deep psychological element to what he calls "soul" or more accurately "sensibility." He addresses music in a non-technical way, taking up the powerful art theory of Charles Baudelaire, the music philosophy of Schopenhauer and Richard Wagner, and takes a strong critical stand against modernist intellectual art music.The importance of this book for the musically- literate reader is its insight into the metaphysics of nostalgia. This comprehension is missing from nearly all musical instruction because we have lost sight of it. Del Nevo asserts that this understanding must be brought back into our culture. And since this is a book about listening to art music, it is no less about sensibility and its cultivation, which in its object form we call culture. An engaging book, Art Music will appeal to those interested in music, culture, and philosophy.

The Metaphysics of Night acknowledges a post-secular philosophy, one that puts philosophy into serious dialogue with religion, rather than considering religion a thing of the past. Matthew Del Nevo deals with the cultural unconscious, inseparable from religious consciousness, and draws on psychoanalysis and literature as well as philosophy. The metaphysics of the night is Del Nevo's metaphor for the deep and mysterious expanse of the soul.Philosophically, the book is critical of Enlightenment presumptions about knowledge and truth and overly spiritualizing tendencies in religion. Its critical edge cuts against materialist and historicist tendencies in the humanities and abstract intellectualism in philosophy. Arguing for strong aesthetic values, Del Nevo defends and explains soul and soulful experience, the creation of depth, the ineffable, real presence, beauty, and saving words, noting that the sources of all these are in us, but often are blocked. Each of the five parts of this book testify to what the author notes may be forgotten, but which ought not to be forgotten. It is necessary for life as socially, religiously, and educationally instituted within culture and as constitutive for culture.Del Nevo deals with sensibility as a form of wisdom and instinct that is not cognitive or knowledge/information based. He argues for a shift of emphasis in culture from intellect to intuition. This well-written work, filled with Catholic, philosophic, and artistic thought will be of interest to all philosophers, theologians, and students of culture.

The Work of Enchantment suggests that it is a lack of "enchantment" in rich, developed countries that causes soul-starved Westerners to experience mental (and sometimes physical) illness. Del Nevo argues that this "enchantment" is most often experienced in childhood, but can also be found in adulthood, particularly through art. However, adults must cultivate within themselves the ability to appreciate art by reading, listening, and gazing activities often misconceived in advanced industrial societies.Del Nevo describes the framework of enchantment and its philosophical and historical roots. He then concentrates on the work of enchantment within literature, considering what enchantment might entail taking the works of Proust, Rilke, and Goethe as examples. Del Nevo shows how a sense of enchantment forms within and between art works, using his literary examples, as well as between the work and the audience. The reader will learn along the way that enchantment may be found in the power of words, as an expression of the desire of the soul, a compliment of melancholy, and in art that points to something beyond itself.Enchantment may be found in many places, ranging from philosophy, religion, and psychology to sociology and culture, but here Del Nevo focuses on literature. His audience is people who are searching for something beyond money or glamour perhaps the meaning of art and culture. His focus on literary masterpieces such as the Duino Elegies, Remembrance of Things Past, Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, and others will make it of interest to those in cultural studies. Well written and engaging, and accessible to non-specialist readers, this unusual work in philosophy and aesthetics is free of jargon and complicated verbiage. Inspiring and enlivening, it is, in the author's words, "a stirring call to idleness."

The Work of Enchantment suggests that it is a lack of "enchantment" in rich, developed countries that causes soul-starved Westerners to experience mental (and sometimes physical) illness. Del Nevo argues that this "enchantment" is most often experienced in childhood, but can also be found in adulthood, particularly through art. However, adults must cultivate within themselves the ability to appreciate art by reading, listening, and gazing—activities often misconceived in advanced industrial societies.Del Nevo describes the framework of enchantment and its philosophical and historical roots. He then concentrates on the work of enchantment within literature, considering what enchantment might entail taking the works of Proust, Rilke, and Goethe as examples. Del Nevo shows how a sense of enchantment forms within and between art works, using his literary examples, as well as between the work and the audience. The reader will learn along the way that enchantment may be found in the power of words, as an expression of the desire of the soul, a compliment of melancholy, and in art that points to something beyond itself.Enchantment may be found in many places, ranging from philosophy, religion, and psychology to sociology and culture, but here Del Nevo focuses on literature. His audience is people who are searching for something beyond money or glamour—perhaps the meaning of art and culture. His focus on literary masterpieces such as the Duino Elegies, Remembrance of Things Past, Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, and others will make it of interest to those in cultural studies. Well written and engaging, and accessible to non-specialist readers, this unusual work in philosophy and aesthetics is free of jargon and complicated verbiage. Inspiring and enlivening, it is, in the author's words, "a stirring call to idleness."

Listening to music is not merely something one does, but something central to a way of living. Listening has the power to transport one into another way of being. It is a mode of feeling and forms the bedrock of deep emotion. Written from the viewpoint of a philosophy of sensibility, Matthew Del Nevo notes that this perspective may not be in fashion, but it follows a long tradition.Del Nevo emphasizes the aesthetic experience of listening to art music as it has developed and disintegrated in Western civilization. He recognizes a deep psychological element to what he calls "soul"—or more accurately "sensibility." He addresses music in a non-technical way, taking up the powerful art theory of Charles Baudelaire, the music philosophy of Schopenhauer and Richard Wagner, and takes a strong critical stand against modernist intellectual art music.The importance of this book for the musically- literate reader is its insight into the metaphysics of nostalgia. This comprehension is missing from nearly all musical instruction because we have lost sight of it. Del Nevo asserts that this understanding must be brought back into our culture. And since this is a book about listening to art music, it is no less about sensibility and its cultivation, which in its object form we call culture. An engaging book, Art Music will appeal to those interested in music, culture, and philosophy.

The Metaphysics of Night acknowledges a post-secular philosophy, one that puts philosophy into serious dialogue with religion, rather than considering religion a thing of the past. Matthew Del Nevo deals with the cultural unconscious, inseparable from religious consciousness, and draws on psychoanalysis and literature as well as philosophy. The metaphysics of the night is Del Nevo's metaphor for the deep and mysterious expanse of the soul.Philosophically, the book is critical of Enlightenment presumptions about knowledge and truth and overly spiritualizing tendencies in religion. Its critical edge cuts against materialist and historicist tendencies in the humanities and abstract intellectualism in philosophy. Arguing for strong aesthetic values, Del Nevo defends and explains soul and soulful experience, the creation of depth, the ineffable, real presence, beauty, and saving words, noting that the sources of all these are in us, but often are blocked. Each of the five parts of this book testify to what the author notes may be forgotten, but which ought not to be forgotten. It is necessary for life as socially, religiously, and educationally instituted within culture and as constitutive for culture.Del Nevo deals with sensibility as a form of wisdom and instinct that is not cognitive or knowledge/information based. He argues for a shift of emphasis in culture from intellect to intuition. This well-written work, filled with Catholic, philosophic, and artistic thought will be of interest to all philosophers, theologians, and students of culture.