Philosophy with All the Feels

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Keywords:

Feelings, attention, audience, Stand-up Comedy, Will, experimentation

Abstract

This piece is written to be performed in front of an audience. It can also be read as a paper, in the way that a play is written to be performed but can also be read as a script. Like a play, it includes stage directions. These are designed to draw attention to the actions of the speaker and the responses of the audience. The piece plays with form in order to explore the role of performance and communication style in our philosophical work. Both content and performance (including staging, sound and imagery) affect how the audience receives and responds to the work. In the course of the piece, I try to show how audience feelings matter in philosophy, and why they are worthy of further examination. Alongside the usual philosophical objectives, I hope to make the audience feel entertained, attentive, and open to new experiences. I aim for us to experience and accomplish something together. 

Author Biography

Sarah Fine

Sarah Fine is Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Philosophy and Fellow of Corpus Christi College at the University of Cambridge. Her work is primarily in social and political philosophy and ethics. She specialises in issues related to migration and borders, well as methodology in philosophy. She is also interested in work connecting philosophy with the arts. She has been involved in a range of research-led collaborations with artists and arts institutions, across a variety of media, including visual arts, theatre, and dance.

References

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Published

30-12-2025

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