I conduct, therefore I am: Cartesian and Spinozist tensions in ensemble leadership discourse

Abstract

This thesis presents a philosophical enquiry into the tensions that underpin ensemble leadership discourse. Its central argument is that the Cartesian divide between mind and body has had a profound impact on Western understandings of leadership, broadly, and effective conducting, specifically. This impact is noteworthy given the range of challenges to Cartesianism that have arisen. The most contemporaneous, and equally overlooked, is the monist philosophy of Baruch Spinoza, which establishes a model of power capable of dissolving leadership hierarchies and unifying the components at play in the conducting craft. Through a critical discourse analysis of five conducting workshops, I demonstrate the centrality of Cartesian thought within ensemble leadership discourse while simultaneously mapping out a marginal discourse in which conducting recognises the Other and thus the potential for relational power. I then postulate how ensemble leadership discourse might be understood if the dominant and marginal discourses were reconciled. I contend that if a Spinozist philosophy were sustained, conducting could be understood as a profession of relationality which seeks to maximise agreement amongst ensemble members, and between ensemble members and conductor, forming a constellation of minds and bodies who strive towards a collective harmony.