Sounds to me like a standard existential crisis. If we were to look at the process of ‘hearing’ music, and try to find the most ‘repeatable’ method of doing so, no matter the subject, the first thing to remove from the picture would be the brain. Too much experience coloring the sound. Next would be the ears, then air, then walls, then speakers. The problem is that once you have removed these things, there is no ‘hearing’ left. The process is subjective and flawed, and looking for scientific repeatability is a fools errand. Our experience of hearing is just that - an experience. Sartre solved the problem by putting existence ahead of essence. Our subjectivity (enlarged with age) makes for more critical listening ability. The essence (pure music without colorization) can only happen after the existence, therefore is already processed and colored by it.
There is no hearing without the faults this thread is trying to identify and resolve. This shouldn’t mean that we give up on a subjective ideal, that would be too unhuman of us. Instead we should succumb to the flawed process and learn to appreciate the wealth of subjective folly that comes with age. Even bad directions can get you to the right place, if your willing and able to enjoy the trip (and not stuck with an oar).
Just my 2 cents - except the last part. That was Homer. He’s old.
