Peter Blegvad and Song-as-Philosophy

Literary scholars have considered whether fiction is a species of philosophic thought experiment. Similarly, a contention in film theory asks whether film is a kind of philosophy or can only illustratively contribute to philosophic lines of inquiry. This article asks: What about song? What resources does song have that can be considered, of themselves, experiments in thought and feeling, intended to convey subjective insights to shared, contemplative ends? Working from an extended study in the oeuvre of singer-songwriter Peter Blegvad, I show how several features of song can surface subjective experiences that are useful resources to bring to rational argumentation—I call this “phenomenology as evidence.” Blegvad’s songs experimentally think and feel across the domains that make up contemporary philosophy.