ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Doctrine of the affections

The doctrine of the affections is all about how music can make us feel certain emotions. Just like how different colors can make us happy or sad, or how yummy food can make us feel excited or calm, music can also make us feel emotions.

A long time ago, people believed that music had magical powers, that it could change our minds and make us do things we wouldn't normally do. But over time, people started to understand more about how music works. They saw that certain rhythms, melodies, and harmonies could make us feel different things, like happy or sad, excited or calm.

The doctrine of the affections is that music can help us express our emotions, and also make us feel emotions more deeply. It's like music is a really powerful tool that can help us communicate how we feel and also help us feel better.

So now when we listen to music, we can think about how it makes us feel and what emotions it's expressing. And if we're feeling down, we can choose music that will help us feel better, like happy or calming music. It's a really cool thing that music can do for us!