Nature vs. Nurture

In todays society, a lot of information is presented to us in very quick succession, and I think we should occasionally take time to reassess who we are and what we are concerned with. I am first and foremost a musician, and I currently feel my primary focus is on sound. In this concert I will present four works that each present a "single" sound or soundscape. Each of the pieces have different relationships on how the "single" sound is approached or how it can relate to this concept of focus for me. I believe to be able to identify what your focus is, you need to compare it to other idea's. For this reason I have invited other artists to present what their focus is while I perform. The artists represent some of Buffalo's finest institutions including: The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Burchfield Penney Museum, Friends of the Buffalo Story, Hallwalls, Off Beat Cinema, Tobacco-Free Western New York, and the Buffalo State University. The artists are photographers, humanists, painters, presenters, sculptors, writers, and musicians. As I play audience members are welcome to walk around to view the presentations, sit and listen, or both.

Due to the temporary nature of this event I calling this a Pop-up Gallery Concert.

Origin of the phrase, "Nature vs. Nurture"

The phrase was popularized by Francis Galton, who was influenced by his half-cousin's, Charles Darwin, book, "On the Origin of Species."

Definitions

Before we are able to ask questions about ourselves we need to understand terminology, so that we do not misinterpret an idea or concept later.

Innate - 1. existing in, belonging to, or determined by factors present in an individual from birth : native, inborn

2. belonging to the essential nature of something : inherent

3. originating in or derived from the mind or the constitution of the intellect rather than from experience

(Merriam-Webster source)

Empirical - 1. originating in or based on observation or experience

2. relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory

3. capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment

4. of or relating to empiricism

(Merriam-Webster source)

Origins of Innatism and Empiricism

The origins of innatism and empiricism are generally attributed to the philosophers below:

Plato (428/427 or 424/23 - 348/47 BC) Classical Greece

Helped define Innatism (Nature, instinctual to one's self)

Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC) (Plato's student)

Helped define Tabula Rasa which is Empiricism (Nurture, learned through experience)

Tabula Rasa was first mentioned in Aristotle's treatise "On the Soul".

Kanada (dates unclear 6th - 2nd century BC) was an Ancient Indian philosopher. He accepted perception and inference as the only two reliable sources of knowledge. This relates to Empiricism.