Listen to the Differentia, Not the Genus

All blues tunes sound the same. The same cord progression. The same beat. The songs all have the same theme. You've heard one, you've heard them all. Can't tell 'em apart.

Unless you are a blues aficionado. Then each and every one is unique, and has a different story to tell. The same goes, I am told, for Vivaldi's concertos.

If they all sound the same, maybe you aren't listening hard enough. When you listen carefully, when you differentiate, you hear start to hear and maybe even appreciate the nuances and the value of each individual piece. You begin to appreciate the blues. Or Vivaldi.

I characterize "easy listening" as listening to the genus and not the differentia. Listen harder, and you transcend the genus and listen to the differentia.

Aristotle first identified (or, perhaps invented) the practice of conceptualizing our world through a hierarchy of ideas based on the generalities that a group or type posses in common - the genus - and the differences between the members of the group - the differentia. Characteristics that differentiate members within a genus may be common to more than one member, and therefore form a sub-species, a new genus, that may be further differentiated all the way down to the individual.

When we perceive some grouping to be "all the same" we are paying attention to the genus. When we perceive the individuating characteristics we are paying attention to the differentia. And it is often the differentia that is of interest and value. It is the differentia that makes the difference.

There is now some evidence that this might be true in a more general and important way than mere music appreciation. It has long been known that most of us harbor subconscious stereotypes, or implicit bias, about people of other races. It is also true that most of us have an easier time recognizing individuals of our own race than those of other races. Research reported in Scientific American Mind has linked this "other-race effect" to implicit racial bias. By learning to individuate the faces of African-Americans, Caucasians were found to diminish their level of implicit bias. The principle author of the study, Sophie Lebrecht, does not claim that the "other-race effect" is the cause of implicit bias, but maintains that it impedes us from overcoming preconceived notions. By overcoming the "other-race effect" we can "start to break down these stereotypes.

When we stop listening to the genus, and pay attention to the diferentia, it makes a difference!


The full study is available on line: Lebrecht S, Pierce LJ, Tarr MJ, Tanaka JW (2009) Perceptual Other-Race Training Reduces Implicit Racial Bias. PLoS ONE 4(1): e4215. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004215