The Performative Dimensions of Academic and Public Philosophy

Abstract

The article conceptualizes the phenomenon of performance in the context of academic and public philosophy as an innovative practice of philosophy teaching and a means to encourage wider communities to participate in the events of philosophical communication. The performative nature of philosophy is traced back to Antiquity when philosophy involved both practice and dramatic action alongside logical theorization. The author argues that the performative turn of the second part of the 20th century provides a theoretical basis for rethinking academic philosophy as performance and for actualizing public philosophy as a means of transferring philosophical inquiry to the public space to address global and local challenges. The author suggests that both modern academic and public branches of philosophy enable actors’ self-presentation and can be analyzed as platforms of performance communication given their open, creative, and reflexive character. This perspective is based on H. U. Gumbrecht’s concept of the production of presence, which explains the performance’s potential for transformation in the public realm. The article demonstrates how performance can challenge the collective representations and norms by suggesting alternative worldviews and defines performance as a collective action and event of communication that can shape a public space. The article argues that performances can be reflexive and creative events that visualize social scripts, making them an effective instrument of public self-reflection and democratic change. Thus, the author analyzes educational performance in the context of modern academic and public philosophy, demonstrating the heuristic role of performance as a cause and platform of public discussion, its transformative role as an event of the common experience of moments of intensity, and its effectiveness as an innovative educational model based on the principles of presentation, self-presentation, interactivity, and co-presence.