[Bups-dis] Pop (as in music) Philosophy

[Edward Grefenstette]

Dear fellow BUPSers,

With a topic title containing the word "pop" as an adjective applied  
to "philosophy", you might come to expect a good deal of critical  
jest directed at certain contemporary philosophers (who will remain  
unnamed for the sake of my potential career) who publish books  
intended for the lay community, and which some of their peers may  
qualify as "rubbish". But rest assured, we'll have none of that here.  
What I wish to discuss is philosophy in pop (or other) music. A while  
back, we had a similar thread about philosophy in popular culture,  
and – it being the summer holidays – it seems like an ideal time to  
bring up a more 'para-academic' topic such as this one.

I recently had the pleasure of listening to the NOFX song "Clams have  
feelings too", the lyrics of which take the form of a debate between  
two parties on the ethical implications of eating shellfish. One  
party contends that clams have no central nervous system, and that  
therefore – as they feel no pain – there are no qualms to be had when  
it comes to consuming delicious clams (a position I'd support  
regardless, out of sheer gastronomical selfishness). The other party  
disagrees on the basis that the lack of sensory organs similar to  
those found in other species is not grounds for claiming that clams  
do not, nonetheless, have feelings, and that therefore it would be  
unethical to take such epistemic leaps and conclude that eating clams  
is okay.

Now, I'm not particularly interested (at least not right within the  
context of this topic) in hearing your arguments for or against  
eating clams (or other animals), since – as those of you having met  
me at conferences may know – I tend to practice a "if it tastes good,  
damn philosophy" code of ethics when it comes to food (horrible,  
eh?). However, I'd be very keen to hear similar anecdotes concerning  
occurrences of philosophical discussion/debate in music that you have  
come across.

All the best,
Edward.

PS: Also, I hope you're all enjoying your summer holidays. : )