Os objetos da música e da matemática e a subalternação das ciências em alguns tratados de música do século XVI

Abstract

It is assumed that during specific periods in history Music and Mathematics were fields which had shared concepts and topics of discussion. A very well known period in which such a communion was specific prolific was the Renaissance. Music was then a mathematic science classified within the quadrivium. During the Renaissance, this conception was well known through the works of the philosopher Boethius and the notion of the subalternate sciences was disseminated through the works of Aristotle and his commentators. However, in the sixteenth century, reformulations were demanded by a number of authors. In the works of Gioseffo Zarlino (1517-1590) and Vincenzo Galilei (1533?-1591) the question on the classification of Music and Mathematics was specifically relevant in challenging the theoretic framework. Therefore, the aim of this article is to demonstrate the relevant role of the discussion on the subalternation of sciences, as it is known that one of the central methodological problems in the demonstration of sciences during the sixteenth century was the definition and reconciliation of the abstract mathematic object and the natural object.