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Volume 10
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Philosophies, Volume 10, Issue 2 (April 2025) – 20 articles

Cover Story (view full-size image): One question that arises in connection with Ockhamism, and that perhaps has not yet received the attention it deserves, is how a coherent formal account of truth ascriptions can be provided by using a suitable truth predicate in the object language. We address this question and show its implications for some semantic issues that have been discussed in the literature on future contingents. Arguably, understanding how truth ascriptions work at the formal level helps to gain a deeper insight into Ockhamism itself. View this paper
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23 pages, 1550 KiB  
Article
Plato’s Mathematical Psychophysics of Color
by Paul Redding
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020047 - 20 Apr 2025
Viewed by 206
Abstract
Aristotle is often regarded as providing a potentially appropriate model for a naturalistic human psychology that is able to reconcile the commonly opposed normative or “manifest” and factual or “scientific” images of the world and restore to the world the qualities that constitute [...] Read more.
Aristotle is often regarded as providing a potentially appropriate model for a naturalistic human psychology that is able to reconcile the commonly opposed normative or “manifest” and factual or “scientific” images of the world and restore to the world the qualities that constitute its value. Such Aristotelian features were taken up after Newton by Goethe in his Theory of Color in his attempt to restore the actual color to the world that had seemingly been drained of it by Newtonian science. Here, I argue that beneath the “modificationalist” elements that Goethe took from Aristotle lies a mathematical approach to color originating in Plato that exploits similarities between color and tonal consonances and dissonances. The logical structure of Goethe’s color theory has recently been investigated by proponents of “universal logic”, but only when this theory is viewed against the background of Plato’s appropriation of Pythagorean harmonic theory does its full explanatory potential become apparent. Full article
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13 pages, 370 KiB  
Article
Retrogradation of Truth and Omniscience
by Ciro De Florio and Aldo Frigerio
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020046 - 17 Apr 2025
Viewed by 131
Abstract
Todd and Rabern have argued that assuming future contingents are untrue, together with accepting the principle of the retrogradation of truth (p→PF(p)), implies that it is metaphysically impossible that an omniscient entity exists. Since the possibility [...] Read more.
Todd and Rabern have argued that assuming future contingents are untrue, together with accepting the principle of the retrogradation of truth (p→PF(p)), implies that it is metaphysically impossible that an omniscient entity exists. Since the possibility of an omniscient being is a metaphyisical and theological thesis that should not depend on assumed temporal semantics, Todd and Rabern conclude that, if one wishes to maintain the untruth of future contingents, one must reject the principle of the retrogradation of truth. This paper aims to show that Todd and Rabern’s argument fails. We present a temporal semantics in which future contingents are untrue, the principle of the retrogradation of truth is valid, and the potential existence of an omniscient and temporal being is preserved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Concepts of Time and Tense)
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32 pages, 487 KiB  
Article
The Possibility of Cosmopolitan Philosophy: Integrating Ontologism and Phenomenological Hermeneutics Within a Post-Foundationalist Framework
by Abbas Jong
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020045 - 15 Apr 2025
Viewed by 269
Abstract
This paper examines the intellectual crises of (post-)modern philosophy, proposing a cosmopolitan philosophy as a remedy for the philosophical fragmentation that has contributed to global intellectual and cultural disintegration. Drawing on the ontological framework of Semyon Frank and enriched by Henry Corbin’s comparative [...] Read more.
This paper examines the intellectual crises of (post-)modern philosophy, proposing a cosmopolitan philosophy as a remedy for the philosophical fragmentation that has contributed to global intellectual and cultural disintegration. Drawing on the ontological framework of Semyon Frank and enriched by Henry Corbin’s comparative philosophy and phenomenological hermeneutics, the paper establishes a new foundation for constructing a cosmopolitan philosophy within a post-foundationalist framework. Frank’s concept of “All-Unity” offers a metaphysical basis that reconciles the universal with the particular, resolving the antinomies of universality versus singularity and historicity versus non-historicity as foundational conditions of the possibility for this philosophy. Corbin’s focus on intuition and the imaginal realm further deepens this approach, enabling the integration of diverse intellectual traditions while honoring their unique and particular contributions. This paper argues that cosmopolitan philosophy can provide a coherent framework for engaging with the complexities of global thought and diverse intellectual traditions, offering a foundation for mutual understanding and addressing the existential crises of contemporary life. Full article
19 pages, 201 KiB  
Article
Camerados: Deleuze and Whitman in Love
by Michael Hinds
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020044 - 15 Apr 2025
Viewed by 275
Abstract
This essay seeks to stress the importance of the American poet Walt Whitman to Gilles Deleuze, using how love is variously explored to think about their methods in relationality. I firstly consider how many classic responses to Whitman express division regarding his work. [...] Read more.
This essay seeks to stress the importance of the American poet Walt Whitman to Gilles Deleuze, using how love is variously explored to think about their methods in relationality. I firstly consider how many classic responses to Whitman express division regarding his work. This is indicated by how D.H. Lawrence stresses the satisfactions and exhilarations of reading Whitman but also refers to the sense of embarrassment and shame which readers might experience on doing so, not least because of Whitman’s own apparent shamelessness. For Lawrence, this is exemplified by Whitman’s proclamation that he “aches with amorous love”, as if he were a Deleuzian desiring machine existing only to ache and nothing but. Yet there is no such embarrassment detectable in Deleuze’s responses to Whitman’s work, and his responses are characterized by their insistence that Whitman always insists upon a dimension to experience beyond such conventional desires. He is more than a poet of the body with organs, which in turn enables an understanding of his work as an anticipation of Deleuze and Guattari’s body without organs as it was first expounded in Anti-Oedipus. To explore this further, direct and indirect correspondences between Deleuze and Whitman are explored, with particular attention to a range of poems from the 1855 Leaves of Grass. These readings show that if there is a conceptual relationship in their work, their style and syntax are also a way in which they relate thought and action. To triangulate the consideration of the varieties of love that are manifest in Deleuze and Whitman, I use Hannah Stark’s essay on Deleuze and love, showing how different aspects of Deleuze’s writing and thought either consciously or unconsciously relate to the American poet. I reflect upon Deleuze’s claim in his essay on the poet that Whitman’s sustained advocacy of “comradely love” represents a practice of radical relationality, and that this also offers a sense of social and political transformability that is key to both. To provide a final shape to this discussion, I refer to Fredric Jameson’s posthumously published seminars on Deleuze, in which he gives particular attention to the philosopher’s particular interest in American literature. Ultimately, the essay finds that Whitman is given a unique status in Deleuze, one which even threatens to jeopardize his own philosophical system, and that the reason for this may well be love. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophies of Love)
27 pages, 5034 KiB  
Article
Reality, Truth, and Detachment: Comparing Buddhist Thought with Western Philosophy and Science
by Aldo Stella and Federico Divino
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020043 - 9 Apr 2025
Viewed by 471
Abstract
The present work, employing the tools provided by comparative philosophy, aims to address several fundamental concepts, including the theme of objective reality linked to the theme of subjective experience, and the theme of absolute truth connected to the issue of determined or phenomenal [...] Read more.
The present work, employing the tools provided by comparative philosophy, aims to address several fundamental concepts, including the theme of objective reality linked to the theme of subjective experience, and the theme of absolute truth connected to the issue of determined or phenomenal truths. The focal point to be highlighted is that these conceptual nodes indeed appear in early Buddhist philosophy found in the Pāli canon but find significant resonance in Western philosophy, that is, in reflective and critical thought originating in ancient Greece. As an eminently theoretical work, this paper’s objective is to demonstrate how the main assertions found in Buddhist philosophy, primarily the outcome of striking insights expressed through iconic stylistic elements or aphorisms, are articulated through reasoned arguments in Western philosophy. We have endeavored to distill these arguments precisely to elucidate the shared theoretical intention. Full article
21 pages, 265 KiB  
Article
The Virtue of Aggression in Sport
by Samantha Brennan and Evan Thomas Knott
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020042 - 8 Apr 2025
Viewed by 380
Abstract
This paper argues that aggression, while often conflated with violence and harm, is a virtue in sports. We distinguish aggression from violence and assertiveness, exploring its positive moral value within rule-governed contexts. We examine the permissibility of violence in sports, considering consent and [...] Read more.
This paper argues that aggression, while often conflated with violence and harm, is a virtue in sports. We distinguish aggression from violence and assertiveness, exploring its positive moral value within rule-governed contexts. We examine the permissibility of violence in sports, considering consent and the public good while acknowledging the potential for harm and the importance of restraint. The paper uses anecdotal evidence and philosophical analysis to support the claim that controlled aggression, a form of self-restraint, is a valuable skill both in and outside of sport. Finally, we explore the relationship between aggression and other virtues like sportsmanship, highlighting the importance of context in evaluating aggressive behaviours. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophy of Sport and Physical Culture)
13 pages, 330 KiB  
Article
Future Actuality and Truth Ascriptions
by Andrea Iacona and Giuseppe Spolaore
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020041 - 5 Apr 2025
Viewed by 194
Abstract
One question that arises in connection with Ockhamism, and that perhaps has not yet received the attention it deserves, is how a coherent formal account of truth ascriptions can be provided by using a suitable truth predicate in the object language. We address [...] Read more.
One question that arises in connection with Ockhamism, and that perhaps has not yet received the attention it deserves, is how a coherent formal account of truth ascriptions can be provided by using a suitable truth predicate in the object language. We address this question and show its implications for some semantic issues that have been discussed in the literature on future contingents. Arguably, understanding how truth ascriptions work at the formal level helps to gain a deeper insight into Ockhamism itself. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Concepts of Time and Tense)
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17 pages, 262 KiB  
Article
Meaning and Reference in Programming Languages
by Nicola Angius
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020040 - 1 Apr 2025
Viewed by 222
Abstract
This paper provides an analysis of the meaning–reference problem, as traditionally advanced in the philosophy of language, for imperative programming languages. Addressing the problem is relevant for the philosophy of computer science in the context of the debate of whether simulative programs can [...] Read more.
This paper provides an analysis of the meaning–reference problem, as traditionally advanced in the philosophy of language, for imperative programming languages. Addressing the problem is relevant for the philosophy of computer science in the context of the debate of whether simulative programs can be considered representational theories of their simulated systems. This paper challenges the thesis that, since programming languages have semantics, they also have reference, presumably to the external world. First, denotational, operational, game theoretic, and axiomatic semantics are epistemologically analysed to provide a theory of meaning for high-level language programs. It is argued that programming language semantics can be seen, to some extent, under the light of Fregean descriptivism, thereby rejecting the view that it is reference that determines meaning. Secondly, descriptivist, causal, character, and intentionalist theories of reference are examined to argue that meaning is not sufficient for programming languages to determine reference, thereby rejecting the view that meaning determines reference. It is argued that it is the intentions of agents that allow programming language semantics to identify referents. The paper concludes that if the semantics of programming languages may determine their reference, the latter is not to the external world but to the internal operations of the implementation executing them. This does not prevent simulative programs from representing empirical systems, but they do so not on the basis of programming language semantics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Semantics and Computation)
21 pages, 274 KiB  
Article
Automatism and Creativity in Contact Improvisation: Re-Inventing Habit and Opening Up to Change
by Serena Massimo
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020039 - 30 Mar 2025
Viewed by 301
Abstract
This article aims to show that the artistic creativity at work in improvised dance depends on the acquisition of automatisms through the capacity of gestural repetition to dissolve the instrumental character of the movements performed and leads to a focus on the mode [...] Read more.
This article aims to show that the artistic creativity at work in improvised dance depends on the acquisition of automatisms through the capacity of gestural repetition to dissolve the instrumental character of the movements performed and leads to a focus on the mode of their performance. After illustrating how the rupture and experimental character of postmodern dance relies on repetition and the guiding role of feeling in contact improvisation, an analysis is made of how the abandonment of feeling—conveyed by the abandonment of gravity—that takes place in contact improvisation is indicative of the transition from a controlling attitude aimed at “problem solving” to a creative attitude aimed at “problem finding”. The recourse to the Straussian notion of pathicity, the valorisation of an aesthetic—affective, expressive, emergent, and relational—character of creativity, and the adoption of a neophenomenological approach will be functional in showing that improvisational artistic creativity arises from the acquisition of a sensitivity to otherness that makes one accustomed to respond in ever new ways to the affective stimuli coming from the circumstances and the affective state underlying the dance style and one’s own interpretation of it. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Aesthetics of the Performing Arts in the Contemporary Landscape)
22 pages, 626 KiB  
Article
Absorbed Concert Listening: A Qualitative, Phenomenological Inquiry
by Simon Høffding, Remy Haswell-Martin and Nanette Nielsen
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020038 - 27 Mar 2025
Viewed by 751
Abstract
This paper pursues a phenomenological investigation of the nature of absorbed listening in Western, classical music concert audiences. This investigation is based on a data-set of 16 in-depth phenomenological interviews with audience members from three classical concerts with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and [...] Read more.
This paper pursues a phenomenological investigation of the nature of absorbed listening in Western, classical music concert audiences. This investigation is based on a data-set of 16 in-depth phenomenological interviews with audience members from three classical concerts with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra conducted in spring 2024. We identify seven major themes, namely “sharedness”, “attention”, “spontaneous thought/mental imagery”, “modes of listening” “absorption”, “distraction”, and “strong emotional experiences”, and interpret these in light of relevant ideas in phenomenology, cognitive psychology, and ecological aesthetics, more precisely “passive synthesis” from Husserl, the “sense of agency” from Gallagher, and “mind surfing” from Høffding, Nielsen, and Laeng. We show that, like absorbed musical performance, absorbed musical listening comes in many shapes and can be grasped as instantiating variations of passive synthesis, the sense of agency, and mind surfing. We conclude that absorbed listening circles around a kind of paradox of passivity, characterised by a sense of loss of egoic control arising from particular forms of invested, intensive perceptual, cognitive, and affective engagement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Aesthetics of the Performing Arts in the Contemporary Landscape)
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15 pages, 502 KiB  
Article
Causal Deviance in Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs): A Challenge for the Philosophy of Action
by Artem S. Yashin
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020037 - 25 Mar 2025
Viewed by 585
Abstract
The problem of deviant causal chains is a classic challenge in the philosophy of action. According to the causal theory of action (CTA), an event qualifies as an action if it is caused by the agent’s intention. In cases of deviant causal chains, [...] Read more.
The problem of deviant causal chains is a classic challenge in the philosophy of action. According to the causal theory of action (CTA), an event qualifies as an action if it is caused by the agent’s intention. In cases of deviant causal chains, this condition is met, but the agent loses control of the situation. To address this, theorists suggest that the intention must cause the action “in the right way”. However, defining what constitutes the “right way” is difficult, as the distinction between having and not having control can be subtle. In this paper, I demonstrate that brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) provide important insights into basic causal deviance. I examine how existing strategies might account for deviant causation in BCI use and highlight their challenges. I advocate for reliability strategies—approaches that focus on identifying which causal pathways reliably connect an agent’s intentions to their outcomes. Additionally, I compare two BCIs that differ in their sources of occasional malfunction. I argue that the presence of causal deviance in a given case depends on the boundaries of the system that enables action. Such boundary analysis is unnecessary for bodily movements; however, for basic actions performed through a machine, it becomes essential. Full article
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10 pages, 192 KiB  
Article
The Psycholinguistics of Self-Talk in Logic-Based Therapy: Using a Toolbox of Philosophical Antidotes to Overcome Self-Destructive Speech Acts
by Elliot D. Cohen
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020036 - 22 Mar 2025
Viewed by 338
Abstract
This article discusses the nature of self-talk, characterizing it as a psycholinguistic activity consisting of the performance of speech acts directed to oneself. More specifically, it examines negative speech acts as embedded in behavioral and emotional reasoning, the performance of which creates behavioral [...] Read more.
This article discusses the nature of self-talk, characterizing it as a psycholinguistic activity consisting of the performance of speech acts directed to oneself. More specifically, it examines negative speech acts as embedded in behavioral and emotional reasoning, the performance of which creates behavioral and emotional disturbances for the agent, such as anxiety, depression, guilt, and anger. This characterization has important implications for psychotherapy, namely, that helping clients to identify these speech acts and replacing them with ones that have antidotal properties can be therapeutic. According to Logic-Based Therapy (LBT), a popular form of philosophical counseling, cardinal or key self-destructive speech acts can be counteracted by uplifting philosophical speech acts when the latter resonate with clients. This means that philosophical psychotherapies, such as LBT, can potentially have significant therapeutic value. Based on this premise, this article introduces and discusses an AI-generated “Toolbox” of philosophical antidotes created by the Institute for Logic-Based Therapy and Consultation in the United States to help clients find suitable, resonant philosophical antidotes to their self-destructive speech acts. Full article
13 pages, 228 KiB  
Article
The Unconditionality of Love: Value, Singularity and Sacrifice
by Felix Ó Murchadha
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020035 - 21 Mar 2025
Viewed by 331
Abstract
This article addresses the question of love’s unconditionality. Drawing mainly on Husserl, Scheler, Arendt, and Patočka, it shows how love is both ubiquitous and unnecessary. There is no limit to what can be loved, but equally, all things can be related to without [...] Read more.
This article addresses the question of love’s unconditionality. Drawing mainly on Husserl, Scheler, Arendt, and Patočka, it shows how love is both ubiquitous and unnecessary. There is no limit to what can be loved, but equally, all things can be related to without love. Love is at once unnecessary and yet constitutive of relations. It is shown that this peculiar characteristic of love is indicative of the fact that in love the object of love is seen in its singular being, and its qualities appear as expressions of that singularity. Love in that sense is transformative of the relation with the love-object, and this transformation becomes manifest in the commitment of the lover to sacrifice, following the call of the beloved. This sacrifice is a ‘sacrifice for nothing’ (Patočka), reflecting the unconditionality of the love-object through a suspension of all instrumentality and exchange relations. This article concludes with a short reading of the ‘good Samaritan’ parable as giving exemplary expression to the unconditionality of love. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Philosophies of Love)
13 pages, 652 KiB  
Article
Infinite Time and the Boltzmann Brain Hypothesis
by M. Joshua Mozersky
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020034 - 20 Mar 2025
Viewed by 458
Abstract
Many argue that the standard understanding of the second law of thermodynamics combined with the supposition, backed by recent scientific evidence, that the future is infinite entails that one is, most likely, a momentary Boltzmann brain that will quickly disintegrate into the cosmos. [...] Read more.
Many argue that the standard understanding of the second law of thermodynamics combined with the supposition, backed by recent scientific evidence, that the future is infinite entails that one is, most likely, a momentary Boltzmann brain that will quickly disintegrate into the cosmos. The argument is as follows: (1) Given infinite time, the universe will eventually reach thermodynamic equilibrium; (2) once there, every possible fluctuation away from equilibrium, no matter how improbable, will recur, ad infinitum; (3) those fluctuations that create stable, long-lived creatures, such as we take ourselves to be, will be extremely rare compared to those that create short-lived brains that mistakenly think they are ordinary human beings; hence, by statistical reasoning, (4) one is, with overwhelming probability, just a fleeting instantiation of experience. I argue that this reasoning is invalid since it rests on an error regarding the relationship between infinite sets and their subsets. Once this error is eliminated, the power of the argument fades, and the evidence that we are ordinary human beings becomes decisive. Surprisingly, I find that the best argument for the Boltzmann brain hypothesis requires the assumption that the future is very long but finite. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Nature of Structure and the Structure of Nature)
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18 pages, 2455 KiB  
Article
Depth and Embodiment Being Present in Architectural Space as an Experience of Meaning
by Yael Canetti Yaffe and Edna Langenthal
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020033 - 14 Mar 2025
Viewed by 670
Abstract
Following philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s unique phenomenology of embodiment and his understanding of three-dimensional space as existential rather than geometric, the article claims that despite sophisticated algorithmic imaging tools, architectural space as a space of meaningful experience does not subject itself to both two-dimensional [...] Read more.
Following philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s unique phenomenology of embodiment and his understanding of three-dimensional space as existential rather than geometric, the article claims that despite sophisticated algorithmic imaging tools, architectural space as a space of meaningful experience does not subject itself to both two-dimensional and three-dimensional representations and simulations. Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology is instrumental in helping identify a “blind spot” in contemporary architecture design process. Our experience of built space is always far more saturated (with regard both to the input of the senses and our cultural and personal background) than any sophisticated tool of representation. This paper draws a direct link between the invention of linear perspective and the use of digital three-dimensional visualization and the popular opinion that these are reliable tools with which to create architecture. A phenomenological analysis of Beaubourg Square in Paris serves as a case study that reveals the basic difference between experiencing space from the point of view of the actual subjective body who is present in space and experiencing designed space by gazing at its representation on a two-dimensional screen. Relying more and more on computation in architectural design leads to a rational mathematical conception of architectural space, whereas the human body as the actual experiencing presence of this space is overlooked. This article claims that in cases of great architecture, such as Beaubourg Square in Paris, the lived-experience of the built space is also the experience of bodily presence, which is a unique mode of existential meaning, which cannot be simulated or represented. Full article
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14 pages, 244 KiB  
Article
Aesthetic Communication in Infancy: A Layered Aesthetic Self
by Pauline von Bonsdorff
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020032 - 11 Mar 2025
Viewed by 427
Abstract
The article discusses communicative exchanges between infants and adults with a view to their performative aesthetic dimensions and implications for self and self–other relationships. It argues that infants are deictic and relational selves, who both respond and initiate aesthetic and performative exchanges with [...] Read more.
The article discusses communicative exchanges between infants and adults with a view to their performative aesthetic dimensions and implications for self and self–other relationships. It argues that infants are deictic and relational selves, who both respond and initiate aesthetic and performative exchanges with other persons. By recognising that aesthetic communication is operative on two levels, one more basic if also predominantly tacit (sharing), the other explicit and active (exchange), we can better understand the significance of aesthetic communication for selfhood and intersubjectivity in infancy, but also beyond. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Aesthetics of the Performing Arts in the Contemporary Landscape)
37 pages, 13590 KiB  
Article
Language and Consciousness in Early Buddhist Thought: On the Early Reflections on the Theme of Language and the Perception of Reality in the Pāli Canon
by Federico Divino
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020031 - 10 Mar 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 750
Abstract
In this paper, the Buddhist view on language and its implications for perception and cognition will be analyzed. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that archaic Buddhism, as documented in the suttas of the Pāli Canon, already presents a well-articulated theory [...] Read more.
In this paper, the Buddhist view on language and its implications for perception and cognition will be analyzed. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that archaic Buddhism, as documented in the suttas of the Pāli Canon, already presents a well-articulated theory of knowledge, and that Buddhist considerations on the problem of language are comparable to Saussure’s early linguistic theories, as well as to fundamental issues in the philosophy of perception and theories of cognition. This comparison with Buddhist thought seeks to provide a technical approach to the problem of consciousness in order to structure a systematic dialogue between the philosophy of mind and language, cognitive sciences, and linguistics, offering an original perspective on these topics through Buddhist thought. Full article
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16 pages, 288 KiB  
Article
Which Intelligible Words? Reading Femicide Through Rancière’s Concept of ‘La Mésentente’
by Raffaela Puggioni
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020030 - 6 Mar 2025
Viewed by 489
Abstract
While Jacques Rancière’s concept of the political, democracy, emancipation, equality and aesthetic have significantly (re)shaped many recent debates, his notion of dis-agreement—in its French formulation of ‘mésentente’, meaning the fact of not hearing, and/or of not understanding—has received relatively little attention. [...] Read more.
While Jacques Rancière’s concept of the political, democracy, emancipation, equality and aesthetic have significantly (re)shaped many recent debates, his notion of dis-agreement—in its French formulation of ‘mésentente’, meaning the fact of not hearing, and/or of not understanding—has received relatively little attention. This article argues that if politics, as Rancière suggests, arise from a novel perceptual universe and if dis-agreement entails not-hearing and/or not-understanding, then “speaking politics”—the very act of breaking away from the dominant configuration of the police order—might be perceived as a noisy sound rather than as coherent and intelligible words. Drawing on Rancière’s concept of mésentente, this article examines the noisy, and largely unintelligible, protests sparked by the violent femicide of Giulia Cecchettin which occurred in Italy in 2023. Ultimately, it raises the following questions: which words are intelligible? Does intelligibility depend on the voice of the speaking subjects? Or does it hinge on the (un)familiarity of the vision they project? How can acts of politics be recognized if the words used are unintelligible? Full article
11 pages, 192 KiB  
Article
Artistic Aesthetic Value in Participatory Art
by Matilde Carrasco-Barranco
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020029 - 4 Mar 2025
Viewed by 640
Abstract
In this article, I seek to outline a theoretical framework to critically assess as artistic the aesthetic value of participatory art, namely, art where the audience’s activity is constitutive of the artwork proper. I depart both from the idea that, in participatory art, [...] Read more.
In this article, I seek to outline a theoretical framework to critically assess as artistic the aesthetic value of participatory art, namely, art where the audience’s activity is constitutive of the artwork proper. I depart both from the idea that, in participatory art, aesthetic qualities emerge in the participants’ performances, and from a functional account of art criticism that assesses works in terms of the kinds of objects they are, the goals they pursue, and manners in which they do so. My paper raises the issue of whether and how a functional account of art criticism, which makes artistic value dependent on the artist’s intentions can apply to the criticism of participatory art, whose aesthetic qualities arise in the activity performed by the audience detached from the specific artefacts designed by artists. I analyse the question considering how such detachment varies across forms of participatory art—from interactive art such as installations to fully collaborative artistic projects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Aesthetics of the Performing Arts in the Contemporary Landscape)
3 pages, 137 KiB  
Editorial
Poetry and Ordinary Language: Introduction to the Special Issue
by David Macarthur
Philosophies 2025, 10(2), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies10020028 - 20 Feb 2025
Viewed by 365
Abstract
Poetry is a creation of ordinary words put to extraordinary use [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Poetry and (the Philosophy of) Ordinary Language)
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