Tullio Viola | Maastricht University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (original) (raw)
Books by Tullio Viola
The present book is the first to undertake a systematic study of Peirce's conception of historica... more The present book is the first to undertake a systematic study of Peirce's conception of historical knowledge and of its value for philosophy. It does so by both reconstructing in detail Peirce's argument and giving a detailed account of the many ways in which history becomes an object of explicit reflection in his writings.
Papers by Tullio Viola
Gestures Approaches, Uses, and Developments, 2024
The chapter asks to what extent the study of gestures and habits can help us investigate the dyna... more The chapter asks to what extent the study of gestures and habits can
help us investigate the dynamics of cultural transmission. I first describe the theories of habit that emerged in the 19th century as a bridge between biological and cultural transmission. Second, I show how, once the Lamarckian premises of this 19th-century paradigm were lifted, the question of cultural transmission through habit became a sociological rather than a biological problem. Third, I analyze the work of Paul Connerton, who argued that habit and bodily performances are central
to the functioning of social memory.
The Oxford Handbook of Modern French Philosophy, 2024
This chapter deals with the work of Félix Ravaisson (1813–1900) and Emile Boutroux (1845–1921). T... more This chapter deals with the work of Félix Ravaisson (1813–1900) and Emile Boutroux (1845–1921). Together with Jules Lachelier, these philosophers are to be taken as the paramount representatives of a
mid-nineteenth-century revival of spiritualist philosophy in France. To the extent that they broke with the eclectic philosophy of Victor Cousin, they veered towards what Ravaisson called a ‘spiritualistic realism or positivism’ based on a close dialogue with the sciences and on a new emphasis
on the concept of contingency. The chapter considers, in particular, the implications of this wave of spiritualism for the philosophy of culture and the philosophy of history.
In Kontakt mit der Wirklichkeit Die Perspektivität verkörperter Wahrnehmung, 2024
Als "direkter Realismus" in der Wahrnehmungstheorie gilt die Auffassung,d ass "Menschen unter daf... more Als "direkter Realismus" in der Wahrnehmungstheorie gilt die Auffassung,d ass "Menschen unter dafür förderlichen Bedingungenn ormalerweise in der Lage [sind], raum-zeitliche Gegenständeu nd Ereignisse sinnlich wahrzunehmen" (Willaschek 1993, 569), ohne dass ein begrifflicher oder mentaler Filter dazwischengeschaltet sein muss. Trotz ihrer allgemeinverständlichen Plausibilität scheint diese Auffassung jedoch aufe in ernsthaftes Hindernis zu stoßen, wenn das Phänomen der soziokulturellen Variabilität der Wahrnehmung ernst genommen wird. Wollen wir an der direkt-realistischen Vorstellung festhalten-wie können wir dann der TatsacheR echnung tragen, dass Menscheni hre Umwelta uf völlig unter-schiedlicheW eisen wahrzunehmen scheinen, und dass diese Weisen sich in Zeit und Raum radikal verändern? Der wahrnehmungstheoretische Konstruktivismuss cheint hier einen Vorteil zu bieten. Die Wahrnehmung-so argumentiert er-ist das Ergebnis eines Ver-mittlungsprozesses¹:s innliche Empfindungenb zw.S innesdaten werden erst vom Subjekte mpfangen und danach durch mentale oder sprachliche Elemente-Repräsentationen, Begriffsschemata, Formen der Anschauung, oder ‚Kulturbrillen'gefiltert.D ie raumzeitliche Variabilität dieser mentalen oder sprachlichen Elemente wiederum erklärt die Variabilität der Wahrnehmung.W er dagegen dem direkten Realismust reu bleiben will, ohne das Faktumd es Kulturwandels zu ignorieren, muss einen Weg finden, um die konstruktivistische Betonunga uf Vermittlungs-oder Filterungsprozesse zu vermeiden und trotzdeme inep lausible Antwort aufd ie folgende Frageg eben können: Wie verändern sich die Wahrnehmungsinhalte je nach kulturellem, historischem,s ozialemu nd geografischemK ontext? Im Folgenden werde ich eine Antwort aufd iese Fragev orschlagen, die sich primära uf die Philosophie des Pragmatismus stützt,u nd insbesonderea uf ihren ‚Chicagoer Zweig',n ämlich das WerkJ ohn Deweys und George H. Meads. Im Chicagoer Pragmatismus wird in der Tatv ersucht,e inen Mittelweg zwischen dem 1 Vgl. Taylor und Dreyfus (2015,K ap.1), zu dem mit dem Konstruktivismus verbundenen "mediational picture" der Erkenntnis.
The Oxford Handbook of Charles S. Peirce, 2024
The chapter explores the different uses of history that emerge from Peirce’s writings and asks to... more The chapter explores the different uses of history that emerge from Peirce’s writings and asks to what extent history, from a Peircean perspective, is relevant to philosophy. It starts by looking at the emergence of Peirce’s interest in history as part and parcel of his polymathic profile. It goes on to analyze history’s role in the development of Peirce’s evolutionary account of the human mind. Finally, it explores the relationship between history and logic. Peirce was interested both in exploring history’s bearing on the investigation of logical questions and in employing his logical theories to elaborate a methodology of historical inquiry.
Edgar Wind: Art and Embodiment, 2024
This essay seeks to reconstruct an indirect dialogue that occurred in the early 1930s between Edg... more This essay seeks to reconstruct an indirect dialogue that occurred in the early 1930s between Edgar Wind and his former mentor, Ernst Cassirer. At the centre of this dialogue is the Fourth Congress of Aesthetics and Kunstwissenschaft, held in Hamburg in October 1930.
Geschichtstheorie am Werk, 2023
https://gtw.hypotheses.org/20884
![Research paper thumbnail of 介于模糊性和言语表达之间的图像:实用主义美学里的一个问题 [“The Image between Vagueness and Articulation: A Question in Pragmatist Aesthetics”]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/105687397/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](德意志思想评论 [Review of German Thought], 2022
Òa*Øì2DéM0.& BEEE u)' j+ ðñ/Ëb5D).qE-&e+ zzEtU-r DA t& BEAA u& r NGQ.NRA v% ä¸&r NRE v% ! ðñ/Ëb* ... more Òa*Øì2DéM0.& BEEE u)' j+ ðñ/Ëb5D).qE-&e+ zzEtU-r DA t& BEAA u& r NGQ.NRA v% ä¸&r NRE v% ! ðñ/Ëb* + p++-6s!&e+ ðñ/Ëbw°-&`#Ðê £ëì* ¢P¤¥¦& AFCA u&r BNN v%
Journal of the Philosophy of History, 2023
The article focuses on the link between memory, folk narratives, and critical thinking. I suggest... more The article focuses on the link between memory, folk narratives, and critical thinking. I suggest in particular that there are instances in which the transmission of a folkloric story, such as a legend or a tale, can intersect with a person's life experiences and facilitate the articulation of critical perspectives on society that might otherwise go unexpressed. The opportunity for discussing this idea is offered by the work of early twentieth-century Chicago sociologist Jane Addams. In her book The Long Road of Woman's Memory (1916) Addams dealt with the modern revival of an ancient legend and investigated its interplay with the recollections, grievances, and aspirations of working-class women.
The Routledge Companion to Pragmatism, Sep 5, 2022
Handbuch Sozialwissenschaftliche Gedächtnisforschung, 2022
[Get in touch if you need the whole pdf] Die Relevanz der Begriffe der Routine und Gewohnheit für... more [Get in touch if you need the whole pdf] Die Relevanz der Begriffe der Routine und Gewohnheit für eine soziologische Untersuchung des Gedächtnisses hängt vor allem mit zwei kennzeichnenden Aspekten gewohnheitsmäßigen Handelns zusammen: dem Einfluss der Vergangenheit auf die Gegenwart und der Verbindung zwischen individuellem Handeln und sozialer Gruppe. In diesem Artikel werden zunächst die im 19. Jahrhundert aufgestellten Theorien zur Gewohnheit als Brücke zwischen biologischer und kultureller Übertragung beschrieben. Anschließend wird erläutert, wie nach Aufhebung der Lamarckschen Prämissen dieser Debatte die Frage nach der kulturellen Übertragung durch Gewohnheit zu einem soziologischen anstelle eines biologischen Problems wurde. Abschließend werden einige besonders einflussreiche zeitgenössische Theorien über die Rolle von Gewohnheit und Routine bei der Untersuchung des sozialen Gedächtnisses analysiert, wie die von Pierre Bourdieu und Paul Connerton.
Revue philosophique de la France et de l'étranger, 2022
After a brief general introduction to the reception of the Principles of Psychology in German-spe... more After a brief general introduction to the reception of the Principles of Psychology in German-speaking countries, the essay focuses on the influence of this text on Ernst Cassirer’s philosophy of culture. In particular, it shows that the concept of stream of consciousness helped Cassirer to solve what can be called the problem of articulation: how should we describe the transition from the continuous flow of sensations to the creation of cultural forms capable of lasting over time? Answering this question means facing a problem to which James had not given a definitive answer, namely the problem of the relationship between the dynamic or transitory components of the stream of consciousness and its static components: concepts, symbols, images.
Idealbildung, Sakralisierung, Religion Beiträge zu Hans Joas’ »Die Macht des Heiligen«, 2022
And as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the poet's pen turns them to shapes ... more And as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the poet's pen turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name.
Handbuch Sozialwissenschaftliche Gedächtnisforschung, 2021
Aus der Perspektive der sozialtheoretischen Gedächtnisforschung erweisen sich einige Grundideen d... more Aus der Perspektive der sozialtheoretischen Gedächtnisforschung erweisen sich einige Grundideen der pragmatistischen Philosophie als maßgebend. Hervorzuheben sind insbesondere die prozessualistische Auffassung der Erfahrung, die Bedeutung von Gewohnheiten, Symbolen und sozialen Beziehungen als Motor der kulturellen Überlieferung sowie die Betonung der gegenwärtigen Handlungssituation als irreduzibler Ausgangspunkt jeder Rekonstruktion der Vergangenheit. Darüber hinaus hat der Pragmatismus zwei konkrete Beiträge zur soziologischen Theorie des Gedächtnisses inspiriert: George H. Cooleys Theorie des sozialen Nachruhms und Jane Addams' Studie über das Gedächtnis von Frauen.
Visual History, 2020
The article examines the work of philosopher and art historian Edgar Wind, a close collaborator o... more The article examines the work of philosopher and art historian Edgar Wind, a close collaborator
of Aby Warburg, in the years immediately following the latter’s death (1929). I examine, in particular, two
texts in which Wind advanced an ambitious reconstruction of Warburg’s approach to art history and the cultural sciences. In the interpretation suggested here, Wind read Warburg through the lenses of pragmatism, a philosophical movement with which he had become acquainted during his first stay in the United States, in the mid-1920s. The interaction of pragmatism with the Warburgian research programme allowed Wind to deal originally with the nature of symbols, the dynamics of cultural transmission, and the relationship between memory and agency.
La società degli individui, 2020
This article reconstructs the main phases of the pragmatist critique of culture and highlights it... more This article reconstructs the main phases of the pragmatist critique of culture and highlights its underlying ideas. It emphasizes, in particular, the importance given to the concept of experience, both as the ultimate testing ground for criticism and as the mainstay of all cultural phenomena. This idea begins to emerge in Charles S. Peirce's and William James's reflections on science and religion. However, it is only brought to full maturity by John Dewey in an ambitioned synthesis between philosophy and the social sciences. In turn, Dewey's work displays many points of contact with the work of other scholars working in Chicago in the first half of the twentieth century. In conclusion, the article touches on an alternative understanding of cultural criticism that comes out of Richard Rorty's "neo-pragmatism."
British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2020
This article proposes a comparison between one of the major figures of French spiritualism, Félix... more This article proposes a comparison between one of the major figures of French spiritualism, Félix Ravaisson, and the pragmatist philosopher Charles S. Peirce. While there seems to be no direct historical connection between the two authors, their philosophies display striking similarities, in particular with regard to the link between the problem of habit and the problem of determinism. Both authors resort to habit when considering the role of chance, spontaneity, and final causation in nature, soon reaching the basic metaphysical issue of how to think about the relation between nature and spirit, or matter and mind. Moreover, they articulate their positions using concepts and metaphors that directly evoke the Christian notion of love. Yet Ravaisson and Peirce also appear to disagree on some fundamental issues. In particular, they have differing conceptions of the relation between habit and spontaneity. The article explores the implications of this disagreement and attempts to unearth its philosophical relevance.
(Some free e-prints of the published version are available at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/verifyEmail?activationCode=IBQXBwrNwytbiCa45NeVQktHD5PvXVNa)
Pragmatism Today, 2019
Hans Joas has recently discussed the theories of religious experience advanced by William James a... more Hans Joas has recently discussed the theories of religious experience advanced by William James and Josiah Royce at the beginning of the twentieth century. In particular, he has placed much emphasis on Royce's recourse to Peirce in his criticism of the Varieties of Religious Experience. On this basis, the present article tries to delve deeper into Royce's late reading of Peirce. Royce is quite successful – this article maintains – in grasping the Peircean conception of reason as an articulatory faculty. But he does not do full justice to Peirce's remarks about the inarticulate and experiential ground out of which articulation unfolds.
History and Theory, 2019
This article explores Walter Bryce Gallie's notion of "essentially contested concepts" from a vie... more This article explores Walter Bryce Gallie's notion of "essentially contested concepts" from a viewpoint that has hitherto been neglected, namely its relation to the philosophy of Charles S. Peirce. As a matter of fact, Gallie was an authoritative reader of the American philosopher. All areas of his work are influenced by his attempt to take up and further articulate a major insight of Peirce's semiotics, namely the idea that symbols are inherently vague, and that their meaning is in a state of perpetual growth. At the same time, Gallie rejected another crucial tenet of Peirce's philosophy, that is, the idea that the growth of signs is regulated by the possibility of a final agreement among sign-users. Examining this ambivalent relation between the two authors will help us shed light on a question that was of crucial importance for Gallie: to what extent should we let our appreciation of concepts or beliefs depend on a historical examination of their meaning?
Pragmata. Revue d'études pragmatistes, 2018
What comparison can be drawn between Charles S. Peirce and George H. Mead on the genesis of the s... more What comparison can be drawn between Charles S. Peirce and George H. Mead on the genesis of the symbol? Building on a shared pragmatist foundation, Peirce and Mead derive certain fundamental hypotheses, such as thinking in terms of processes and the importance attributed to the notion of habit. In addition, their theories are similar in so far as they can both be considered as a midpoint between, on the one hand, a rationalist position in which the symbol is perceived as the product of agreement between rational agents, and on the other hand a radical empiricism which sees the symbol simply as the outcome of processes of repetition. Nonetheless, there are fundamental differences between the perspectives of these two authors, in particular with regard to methodology: highly semiotic in the case of Peirce, oriented towards the construction of a social theory in the case of Mead. The comparison between the two authors is therefore also an invitation to think about the possibilities and limitations of a more general pragmatist theory of symbolic expression.
The present book is the first to undertake a systematic study of Peirce's conception of historica... more The present book is the first to undertake a systematic study of Peirce's conception of historical knowledge and of its value for philosophy. It does so by both reconstructing in detail Peirce's argument and giving a detailed account of the many ways in which history becomes an object of explicit reflection in his writings.
Gestures Approaches, Uses, and Developments, 2024
The chapter asks to what extent the study of gestures and habits can help us investigate the dyna... more The chapter asks to what extent the study of gestures and habits can
help us investigate the dynamics of cultural transmission. I first describe the theories of habit that emerged in the 19th century as a bridge between biological and cultural transmission. Second, I show how, once the Lamarckian premises of this 19th-century paradigm were lifted, the question of cultural transmission through habit became a sociological rather than a biological problem. Third, I analyze the work of Paul Connerton, who argued that habit and bodily performances are central
to the functioning of social memory.
The Oxford Handbook of Modern French Philosophy, 2024
This chapter deals with the work of Félix Ravaisson (1813–1900) and Emile Boutroux (1845–1921). T... more This chapter deals with the work of Félix Ravaisson (1813–1900) and Emile Boutroux (1845–1921). Together with Jules Lachelier, these philosophers are to be taken as the paramount representatives of a
mid-nineteenth-century revival of spiritualist philosophy in France. To the extent that they broke with the eclectic philosophy of Victor Cousin, they veered towards what Ravaisson called a ‘spiritualistic realism or positivism’ based on a close dialogue with the sciences and on a new emphasis
on the concept of contingency. The chapter considers, in particular, the implications of this wave of spiritualism for the philosophy of culture and the philosophy of history.
In Kontakt mit der Wirklichkeit Die Perspektivität verkörperter Wahrnehmung, 2024
Als "direkter Realismus" in der Wahrnehmungstheorie gilt die Auffassung,d ass "Menschen unter daf... more Als "direkter Realismus" in der Wahrnehmungstheorie gilt die Auffassung,d ass "Menschen unter dafür förderlichen Bedingungenn ormalerweise in der Lage [sind], raum-zeitliche Gegenständeu nd Ereignisse sinnlich wahrzunehmen" (Willaschek 1993, 569), ohne dass ein begrifflicher oder mentaler Filter dazwischengeschaltet sein muss. Trotz ihrer allgemeinverständlichen Plausibilität scheint diese Auffassung jedoch aufe in ernsthaftes Hindernis zu stoßen, wenn das Phänomen der soziokulturellen Variabilität der Wahrnehmung ernst genommen wird. Wollen wir an der direkt-realistischen Vorstellung festhalten-wie können wir dann der TatsacheR echnung tragen, dass Menscheni hre Umwelta uf völlig unter-schiedlicheW eisen wahrzunehmen scheinen, und dass diese Weisen sich in Zeit und Raum radikal verändern? Der wahrnehmungstheoretische Konstruktivismuss cheint hier einen Vorteil zu bieten. Die Wahrnehmung-so argumentiert er-ist das Ergebnis eines Ver-mittlungsprozesses¹:s innliche Empfindungenb zw.S innesdaten werden erst vom Subjekte mpfangen und danach durch mentale oder sprachliche Elemente-Repräsentationen, Begriffsschemata, Formen der Anschauung, oder ‚Kulturbrillen'gefiltert.D ie raumzeitliche Variabilität dieser mentalen oder sprachlichen Elemente wiederum erklärt die Variabilität der Wahrnehmung.W er dagegen dem direkten Realismust reu bleiben will, ohne das Faktumd es Kulturwandels zu ignorieren, muss einen Weg finden, um die konstruktivistische Betonunga uf Vermittlungs-oder Filterungsprozesse zu vermeiden und trotzdeme inep lausible Antwort aufd ie folgende Frageg eben können: Wie verändern sich die Wahrnehmungsinhalte je nach kulturellem, historischem,s ozialemu nd geografischemK ontext? Im Folgenden werde ich eine Antwort aufd iese Fragev orschlagen, die sich primära uf die Philosophie des Pragmatismus stützt,u nd insbesonderea uf ihren ‚Chicagoer Zweig',n ämlich das WerkJ ohn Deweys und George H. Meads. Im Chicagoer Pragmatismus wird in der Tatv ersucht,e inen Mittelweg zwischen dem 1 Vgl. Taylor und Dreyfus (2015,K ap.1), zu dem mit dem Konstruktivismus verbundenen "mediational picture" der Erkenntnis.
The Oxford Handbook of Charles S. Peirce, 2024
The chapter explores the different uses of history that emerge from Peirce’s writings and asks to... more The chapter explores the different uses of history that emerge from Peirce’s writings and asks to what extent history, from a Peircean perspective, is relevant to philosophy. It starts by looking at the emergence of Peirce’s interest in history as part and parcel of his polymathic profile. It goes on to analyze history’s role in the development of Peirce’s evolutionary account of the human mind. Finally, it explores the relationship between history and logic. Peirce was interested both in exploring history’s bearing on the investigation of logical questions and in employing his logical theories to elaborate a methodology of historical inquiry.
Edgar Wind: Art and Embodiment, 2024
This essay seeks to reconstruct an indirect dialogue that occurred in the early 1930s between Edg... more This essay seeks to reconstruct an indirect dialogue that occurred in the early 1930s between Edgar Wind and his former mentor, Ernst Cassirer. At the centre of this dialogue is the Fourth Congress of Aesthetics and Kunstwissenschaft, held in Hamburg in October 1930.
Geschichtstheorie am Werk, 2023
https://gtw.hypotheses.org/20884
德意志思想评论 [Review of German Thought], 2022
Òa*Øì2DéM0.& BEEE u)' j+ ðñ/Ëb5D).qE-&e+ zzEtU-r DA t& BEAA u& r NGQ.NRA v% ä¸&r NRE v% ! ðñ/Ëb* ... more Òa*Øì2DéM0.& BEEE u)' j+ ðñ/Ëb5D).qE-&e+ zzEtU-r DA t& BEAA u& r NGQ.NRA v% ä¸&r NRE v% ! ðñ/Ëb* + p++-6s!&e+ ðñ/Ëbw°-&`#Ðê £ëì* ¢P¤¥¦& AFCA u&r BNN v%
Journal of the Philosophy of History, 2023
The article focuses on the link between memory, folk narratives, and critical thinking. I suggest... more The article focuses on the link between memory, folk narratives, and critical thinking. I suggest in particular that there are instances in which the transmission of a folkloric story, such as a legend or a tale, can intersect with a person's life experiences and facilitate the articulation of critical perspectives on society that might otherwise go unexpressed. The opportunity for discussing this idea is offered by the work of early twentieth-century Chicago sociologist Jane Addams. In her book The Long Road of Woman's Memory (1916) Addams dealt with the modern revival of an ancient legend and investigated its interplay with the recollections, grievances, and aspirations of working-class women.
The Routledge Companion to Pragmatism, Sep 5, 2022
Handbuch Sozialwissenschaftliche Gedächtnisforschung, 2022
[Get in touch if you need the whole pdf] Die Relevanz der Begriffe der Routine und Gewohnheit für... more [Get in touch if you need the whole pdf] Die Relevanz der Begriffe der Routine und Gewohnheit für eine soziologische Untersuchung des Gedächtnisses hängt vor allem mit zwei kennzeichnenden Aspekten gewohnheitsmäßigen Handelns zusammen: dem Einfluss der Vergangenheit auf die Gegenwart und der Verbindung zwischen individuellem Handeln und sozialer Gruppe. In diesem Artikel werden zunächst die im 19. Jahrhundert aufgestellten Theorien zur Gewohnheit als Brücke zwischen biologischer und kultureller Übertragung beschrieben. Anschließend wird erläutert, wie nach Aufhebung der Lamarckschen Prämissen dieser Debatte die Frage nach der kulturellen Übertragung durch Gewohnheit zu einem soziologischen anstelle eines biologischen Problems wurde. Abschließend werden einige besonders einflussreiche zeitgenössische Theorien über die Rolle von Gewohnheit und Routine bei der Untersuchung des sozialen Gedächtnisses analysiert, wie die von Pierre Bourdieu und Paul Connerton.
Revue philosophique de la France et de l'étranger, 2022
After a brief general introduction to the reception of the Principles of Psychology in German-spe... more After a brief general introduction to the reception of the Principles of Psychology in German-speaking countries, the essay focuses on the influence of this text on Ernst Cassirer’s philosophy of culture. In particular, it shows that the concept of stream of consciousness helped Cassirer to solve what can be called the problem of articulation: how should we describe the transition from the continuous flow of sensations to the creation of cultural forms capable of lasting over time? Answering this question means facing a problem to which James had not given a definitive answer, namely the problem of the relationship between the dynamic or transitory components of the stream of consciousness and its static components: concepts, symbols, images.
Idealbildung, Sakralisierung, Religion Beiträge zu Hans Joas’ »Die Macht des Heiligen«, 2022
And as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the poet's pen turns them to shapes ... more And as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the poet's pen turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name.
Handbuch Sozialwissenschaftliche Gedächtnisforschung, 2021
Aus der Perspektive der sozialtheoretischen Gedächtnisforschung erweisen sich einige Grundideen d... more Aus der Perspektive der sozialtheoretischen Gedächtnisforschung erweisen sich einige Grundideen der pragmatistischen Philosophie als maßgebend. Hervorzuheben sind insbesondere die prozessualistische Auffassung der Erfahrung, die Bedeutung von Gewohnheiten, Symbolen und sozialen Beziehungen als Motor der kulturellen Überlieferung sowie die Betonung der gegenwärtigen Handlungssituation als irreduzibler Ausgangspunkt jeder Rekonstruktion der Vergangenheit. Darüber hinaus hat der Pragmatismus zwei konkrete Beiträge zur soziologischen Theorie des Gedächtnisses inspiriert: George H. Cooleys Theorie des sozialen Nachruhms und Jane Addams' Studie über das Gedächtnis von Frauen.
Visual History, 2020
The article examines the work of philosopher and art historian Edgar Wind, a close collaborator o... more The article examines the work of philosopher and art historian Edgar Wind, a close collaborator
of Aby Warburg, in the years immediately following the latter’s death (1929). I examine, in particular, two
texts in which Wind advanced an ambitious reconstruction of Warburg’s approach to art history and the cultural sciences. In the interpretation suggested here, Wind read Warburg through the lenses of pragmatism, a philosophical movement with which he had become acquainted during his first stay in the United States, in the mid-1920s. The interaction of pragmatism with the Warburgian research programme allowed Wind to deal originally with the nature of symbols, the dynamics of cultural transmission, and the relationship between memory and agency.
La società degli individui, 2020
This article reconstructs the main phases of the pragmatist critique of culture and highlights it... more This article reconstructs the main phases of the pragmatist critique of culture and highlights its underlying ideas. It emphasizes, in particular, the importance given to the concept of experience, both as the ultimate testing ground for criticism and as the mainstay of all cultural phenomena. This idea begins to emerge in Charles S. Peirce's and William James's reflections on science and religion. However, it is only brought to full maturity by John Dewey in an ambitioned synthesis between philosophy and the social sciences. In turn, Dewey's work displays many points of contact with the work of other scholars working in Chicago in the first half of the twentieth century. In conclusion, the article touches on an alternative understanding of cultural criticism that comes out of Richard Rorty's "neo-pragmatism."
British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2020
This article proposes a comparison between one of the major figures of French spiritualism, Félix... more This article proposes a comparison between one of the major figures of French spiritualism, Félix Ravaisson, and the pragmatist philosopher Charles S. Peirce. While there seems to be no direct historical connection between the two authors, their philosophies display striking similarities, in particular with regard to the link between the problem of habit and the problem of determinism. Both authors resort to habit when considering the role of chance, spontaneity, and final causation in nature, soon reaching the basic metaphysical issue of how to think about the relation between nature and spirit, or matter and mind. Moreover, they articulate their positions using concepts and metaphors that directly evoke the Christian notion of love. Yet Ravaisson and Peirce also appear to disagree on some fundamental issues. In particular, they have differing conceptions of the relation between habit and spontaneity. The article explores the implications of this disagreement and attempts to unearth its philosophical relevance.
(Some free e-prints of the published version are available at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/verifyEmail?activationCode=IBQXBwrNwytbiCa45NeVQktHD5PvXVNa)
Pragmatism Today, 2019
Hans Joas has recently discussed the theories of religious experience advanced by William James a... more Hans Joas has recently discussed the theories of religious experience advanced by William James and Josiah Royce at the beginning of the twentieth century. In particular, he has placed much emphasis on Royce's recourse to Peirce in his criticism of the Varieties of Religious Experience. On this basis, the present article tries to delve deeper into Royce's late reading of Peirce. Royce is quite successful – this article maintains – in grasping the Peircean conception of reason as an articulatory faculty. But he does not do full justice to Peirce's remarks about the inarticulate and experiential ground out of which articulation unfolds.
History and Theory, 2019
This article explores Walter Bryce Gallie's notion of "essentially contested concepts" from a vie... more This article explores Walter Bryce Gallie's notion of "essentially contested concepts" from a viewpoint that has hitherto been neglected, namely its relation to the philosophy of Charles S. Peirce. As a matter of fact, Gallie was an authoritative reader of the American philosopher. All areas of his work are influenced by his attempt to take up and further articulate a major insight of Peirce's semiotics, namely the idea that symbols are inherently vague, and that their meaning is in a state of perpetual growth. At the same time, Gallie rejected another crucial tenet of Peirce's philosophy, that is, the idea that the growth of signs is regulated by the possibility of a final agreement among sign-users. Examining this ambivalent relation between the two authors will help us shed light on a question that was of crucial importance for Gallie: to what extent should we let our appreciation of concepts or beliefs depend on a historical examination of their meaning?
Pragmata. Revue d'études pragmatistes, 2018
What comparison can be drawn between Charles S. Peirce and George H. Mead on the genesis of the s... more What comparison can be drawn between Charles S. Peirce and George H. Mead on the genesis of the symbol? Building on a shared pragmatist foundation, Peirce and Mead derive certain fundamental hypotheses, such as thinking in terms of processes and the importance attributed to the notion of habit. In addition, their theories are similar in so far as they can both be considered as a midpoint between, on the one hand, a rationalist position in which the symbol is perceived as the product of agreement between rational agents, and on the other hand a radical empiricism which sees the symbol simply as the outcome of processes of repetition. Nonetheless, there are fundamental differences between the perspectives of these two authors, in particular with regard to methodology: highly semiotic in the case of Peirce, oriented towards the construction of a social theory in the case of Mead. The comparison between the two authors is therefore also an invitation to think about the possibilities and limitations of a more general pragmatist theory of symbolic expression.
Handbuch Pragmatismus, 2018
Im romanischen Sprachraum Südwesteuropas lässt sich durchaus so etwas wie ein einheitlicher Chara... more Im romanischen Sprachraum Südwesteuropas lässt sich durchaus so etwas wie ein einheitlicher Charakter der Pragmatismus-Rezeption beobachten. Dieser Charakter ist auf kulturelle, politische und religiöse Gemeinsamkeiten der dortigen Länder zurückzuführen. Gleichzeitig lassen sich nationale Besonderheiten konstatieren: In Italien wurde die erste pragmatistische Bewegung außerhalb der Englisch sprechenden Länder geboren, war jedoch relativ kurzlebig; in Frankreich erlebte der Pragmatismus eine viel dauerhaftere Präsenz und einen intensiven Austausch mit der dortigen Philosophie; auf der iberischen Halbinsel hingegen war der Einfluss eher indirekt.
European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy, 2020
Talk at Padova University, "Mobility and Humanities Seminar"
Conference in Toulouse (and online)
Séminaire à distance 2020-2021 21 octobre 2020, 16-19h Blondel's Modernity: The critique and (re)... more Séminaire à distance 2020-2021 21 octobre 2020, 16-19h Blondel's Modernity: The critique and (re)construction of modern philosophy Rencontre coordonnée par V. Emma-Adamah (UR CERES -ICT) William Connelly (ICP), Ontogeny and Reduction: Blondel's Critique of Phenomenology and the Proposal of an Integral Realism Victor Emma-Adamah (UR CERES, ICT), Logomachia and Logocentrism: Maurice Blondel and the critique of philosophy as a critique of life Jonathan Martin Ciraulo (Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology), The Cycloidal Host: The Philosophical Value of Religious Cult in Blondel's L'Action, Part V 25 novembre 2020, 16-19h Habitude et société. Une alliance complexe Rencontre coordonnée par D. Vincenti
![Research paper thumbnail of The study of culture after William James's Principles of Psychology [Talk]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/61996879/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](The general aim of the talk is to defend an interpretation of classical pragmatism as one of the ... more The general aim of the talk is to defend an interpretation of classical pragmatism as one of the most significant turn-of-the-century contributions to a philosophical study of culture. More specifically, the seminar aims to explore the crucial role played by William James in this story. In a chapter of The Principles of Psychology entitled "The Perception of Reality," James suggests conceptualizing different cultural domains-such as science, mythology, or religion-as "sub-universes" of our reality, to which we may grant or deny existence depending on the specific situations in which we find ourselves acting. This argument opens up the possibility of a systematic inquiry into the way the many spheres of human culture develop over time and interact with one another. At the same time, it relates to other aspects of James's philosophy that are pivotal to a philosophy of culture, such as the "will to believe," the theory of emotions, and the stream of thought.
HOPOS: The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, 2024
Journal of the Philosophy of History, 2024
Tullio Viola The American pragmatist tradition offers a wealth of ideas relevant to the philosoph... more Tullio Viola The American pragmatist tradition offers a wealth of ideas relevant to the philosophy of history, but this relevance has yet to be fully explored. Although its title might suggest otherwise, Marnie Binder's book does not aim to provide a systematic account of these ideas or a comprehensive interpretation of what pragmatist thinkers have had to say about history. Rather, it discusses some of the implications we can draw from pragmatist philosophy-particularly from its so-called classical period, spanning the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth century-for contemporary concerns about history. Binder divides her work into six chapters, each devoted to a brief discussion of one of the pragmatist authors she considers central: not only the classical triad of Peirce, James, and Dewey, but also George H. Mead, Jane Addams, and the British thinker Ferdinand C.S. Schiller.
European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy, 2024
Radical Philosophy, 2023
future directions for a social and political ethos echo traditional ones. The 'man to come', for ... more future directions for a social and political ethos echo traditional ones. The 'man to come', for Sartre, is designated by 'liberty, equality and fraternity'. Pinkard argues that Sartre would have seen his own project as 'the realization of the (originally bourgeois) goals of the 1789 revolution' that could only be actualised in a post-capitalist order. Like Hegel and Marx, Sartre did not wish merely to 'cancel' but to 'cancel and preserve'. Trust the words of a renowned Hegel scholar like Pinkard when he says that 'Sartre ended up with an unfinished version of a kind of somewhat naturalized left-Hegelianism … shorn of many of Hegel's own commitments' (and Marx's too, I might add). Pinkard ends Practice, Power, and Forms of Life with the following note: 'Foucault's quip about Sartre's "pathetic" use of the nineteenth century to probe the problems of the twentieth might have a lot more truth to it after all-even for the twenty-first century.' Pinkard makes us consider symptomatic self-contradictory misrecognitions of the crisis of capitalism that falsifies such attempts to avoid the problem through fidelity to prior liberal-democratic bourgeois thought. Given Sartre's return to a left-Hegelian liberalism out of his rejection of Marxism, readers familiar with Sartre should wonder to what extent Sartre is implicated by his own critique that he articulated in the orphaned introduction to the Critique called Search for a Method. There, Sartre writes, 'I have often remarked on the fact that an "anti-Marxist" argument is only the apparent rejuvenation of a pre-Marxist idea. A so-called "going beyond" Marxism will be at worst only a return to pre-Marxism; at best, only the rediscovery of a thought already contained in the philosophy which one believes he has gone beyond.'
European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy, 2023
Studia Philosophica , 2021
Visual History, 2020
The text offers a brief overview of the exhibition Aby Warburg: Bilderatlas Mnemosyne. Das Origin... more The text offers a brief overview of the exhibition Aby
Warburg: Bilderatlas Mnemosyne. Das Original (Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 4/9-1/11/2020) and of some related initiatives: a conference on Mnemosyne (25-26/9/2020) and an exhibition of some of the original works included in Warburg’s atlas, hosted by the Gemäldegalerie
Studi di Estetica , 2020
WIth Alva Noë, Georg W. Bertram, David Davies, Thomas Leddy, Tullio Viola
Revue philosophique de la France et de l'étranger, 2020
Ravaisson 547 densité par une analyse du Socrate de La Naissance de la tragédie : au Socrate plat... more Ravaisson 547 densité par une analyse du Socrate de La Naissance de la tragédie : au Socrate platonicien s'adjoint un Socrate musicien qui annonce Zarathoustra, si bien qu'un type décadent peut se dépasser (Überwindung) en un type affirmatif, porteur d'élévation de la culture.
Human Affairs, Jul 2013
What is at stake in our enduring debate over ethical and political issues? What can philosophy le... more What is at stake in our enduring debate over ethical and political issues? What can philosophy learn by putting the all-pervasive experience of conflict over morals and norms at the centre of its concerns? Roberto Frega's beautiful book is an attempt to answer these and similar questions from the vantage point of pragmatism. At the same time, it is an attempt to define this very category-pragmatism-in a way that prompts us to better appreciate its crucial relevance to the questions above. The core of the project lies in John Dewey's account of practical reasoning. But Frega also keeps a steady and keen eye on Peirce; and overall, his strategy is nicely dialogic. Indeed, he turns the very term "pragmatism" into the protagonist of a conversation with diverse interlocutors chosen, with very few exceptions, from today's English-speaking philosophical debate. In a number of well-structured chapters, this conversation winds among representatives of communitarian and perfectionist ethics (Michael Walzer, Charles Taylor, Stanley Cavell) and political theory (Rawls, Habermas, Nancy Fraser), as well as the neo-pragmatist tradition.
![Research paper thumbnail of Review to Frederik Stjernfelt, "Natural Propositions: The Actuality of Peirce's Doctrine of Dicisigns" (Boston 2014) [In Italian]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/39547708/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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Cromohs (Cyber Review of Modern Historiography, 2019