British Journal of Aesthetics

In a remarkable feat of stamina, Neumark Jones gives a compelling performance in which he never leaves the stage, and the set […] never changes. This results in almost continuous movement at a frequently frenetic pace along a narrative track that meanders less than the novel’s on the way to its tragic terminus. If the novel is a tense commuter service stopping periodically at ominous stations, the play is a runaway express train on which the emergency brake has snapped. - Nils-Hennes Stear, Review of The Passenger, Finborough Theatre, London

In this advance article, Nils Stear reviews The Passenger, a play adapted from Ulrich Boschwitz's recently rediscovered novel, and reflects on the challenges and promise of literary adaptations. doi.org/10.1093/aest... #philsky

As our bodies age, we experience predictable changes in both appearance and functionality. […] The voice also ages, most notably because the vocal folds of the larynx become thinner and gradually harden (Stadelman-Cohen and Hillman 2019: 34). The singing voice changes with age, the vocal range diminishes, and therefore the prime years for many opera singers have been brief. - Theodore Gracyk, The Beautiful Voice in Opera: The Injustice of Vocal Discrimination

Ted Gracyk looks at the resistance to casting ugly voices in leading opera roles and its relationship to questions of justice in our latest issue. doi.org/10.1093/aest... #philsky

"Is it a long way to the golf course?"
"Well, it depends on what you mean by a long way."
THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR ASKING DIRECTIONS OUTSIDE THE PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT PAL.

The British Society of Aesthetics seeks to appoint a paid, part-time Editor for its website, newsletter, and social media. Applicants will be expected to be UK-based postgraduates working in aesthetics.

The deadline for applications is 22 October 2025.

HAIL OUR GLORIOUS LEADER!

...well, editor, I suppose. Co-editor. Our glorious co-editor. Hail.

In a remarkable feat of stamina, Neumark Jones gives a compelling performance in which he never leaves the stage, and the set […] never changes. This results in almost continuous movement at a frequently frenetic pace along a narrative track that meanders less than the novel’s on the way to its tragic terminus. If the novel is a tense commuter service stopping periodically at ominous stations, the play is a runaway express train on which the emergency brake has snapped. - Nils-Hennes Stear, Review of The Passenger, Finborough Theatre, London

In this advance article, Nils Stear reviews The Passenger, a play adapted from Ulrich Boschwitz's recently rediscovered novel, and reflects on the challenges and promise of literary adaptations. doi.org/10.1093/aest... #philsky

As our bodies age, we experience predictable changes in both appearance and functionality. […] The voice also ages, most notably because the vocal folds of the larynx become thinner and gradually harden (Stadelman-Cohen and Hillman 2019: 34). The singing voice changes with age, the vocal range diminishes, and therefore the prime years for many opera singers have been brief. - Theodore Gracyk, The Beautiful Voice in Opera: The Injustice of Vocal Discrimination

Ted Gracyk looks at the resistance to casting ugly voices in leading opera roles and its relationship to questions of justice in our latest issue. doi.org/10.1093/aest... #philsky

We are pleased to announce that the Summer 2025 edition of the ASA Newsletter is now available on-line!

Go here to read about recent society news, catch up on the latest CFP's, and learn about upcoming dates and deadlines: cdn.ymaws.com/aesthetics-o...

Tsai has always been very explicit that, for him, filmmaking is not about stories, not about narratives, but about showing images worth seeing. And the Walker series gives him the opportunity to do this in a pure form. The slow-walking monk is but an excuse for showing us images worth looking at. Bence Nanay, Review of Tsai Ming-Liang: Walker Series, Film Fest Gent and Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst

Bence Nanay looks closely at Tsai Ming-Liang's more experimental work in this advance article published mere minutes ago. doi.org/10.1093/aest... #philsky

If affective states flow among discrete bodies, moving those bodies to different actions, experiences, and choices, and if the way they hit and take up residence in bodies is culturally and politically inflected, then how are we to understand how emotion can be effectively and ethically taken up in the space of voice and acting training? Christine Hamel & Ann J Cahill, The Swirl of Emotion Among Us: Affect, the Voice, and Performance Training

Christine Hamel and Ann Cahill look at what is needed in actors' voice training to create more just practices in rehearsal and performance. From our latest issue. doi.org/10.1093/aest... #philsky

‘[Dana] Schutz could have produced an insightful work even without belonging to—or receiving acknowledgment from—the relevant group. Her failure would not so much depend on these aspects, but—as I will try to show—on her awkward artistic contribution to the story and image she takes as her subject.’ - María José Alcaraz León, An Artist’s Voice: Expressive Achievement, Experiential Content, and Authority

Mariajo Alcaraz León takes a closer look at how an artist's identity intersects with the ethical contours of her work in our newest issue. doi.org/10.1093/aest... #philsky

I think it's Kant when he starred in 'Goodfellas (...Universalize Their Maxims)'. Or maybe it was 'Analyze This (Synthesize That)'.

‘Due to the ostensible phenomenological immediacy of the art form, all discussions of performance art involve some manoeuvering—presumptive or otherwise—around what it means to have an experience.’ - Rossen Ventzislavov, Is There Any Body Out There?

Rossen Ventzislavov lays out two problems with how philosophers conceive of the human body in performance art in our new issue. doi.org/10.1093/aest...

Whether in discussions about colour-blind casting in Hollywood or major opera houses deciding if canonical stage works that problematically depict marginalized people should still be performed, the cultural implications of ‘giving voice’ to marginalized experiences and ideas through performance are more important now than ever. To date, these issues have remained largely untouched by philosophy, yet philosophy can bring important and distinctive understanding to the debate through ethical and aesthetic analysis of performance and embodied voice[.] - Karen Simecek, Toby Young, Embodied Voices: An Introduction

Karen Simecek and Toby Young introduce our brand new issue, a special issue on the aesthetics and ethics of embodied performance. doi.org/10.1093/aest... #philsky

Exciting news! The British Journal of Aesthetics, co-edited by our METIS member Paloma Atencia, has just released a brand new issue today! 🎉📚 More info here👉: academic.oup.com/bjaesthetics...

Some fruit are just too close to the ground, my friend.

A cover of the British Journal of Aesthetics, Volume 65, Number 3. A special issue on embodied voices: aesthetics and ethics of bodies in performance.

Embodied voices: an introduction Performing arts and affordances: moving toward poetic justice through embodied learning Is there anybody out there? “Her fresh voice”: representatively staging Puccini’s Turandot with Andrea Dworkin An artist’s voice: expressive achievement, experiential content, and authority

The swirl of emotion among us: affect, the voice, and performance training The beautiful voice in opera: the injustice of vocal discrimination Voice, rhyme, and aesthetic injustice

A list of reviews in the latest issue of the BJA.

This is a public service announcement. The BJA has published a brand new issue. That is all. academic.oup.com/bjaesthetics... #philsky

A cover of the British Journal of Aesthetics, Volume 65, Number 3. A special issue on embodied voices: aesthetics and ethics of bodies in performance.

Embodied voices: an introduction Performing arts and affordances: moving toward poetic justice through embodied learning Is there anybody out there? “Her fresh voice”: representatively staging Puccini’s Turandot with Andrea Dworkin An artist’s voice: expressive achievement, experiential content, and authority

The swirl of emotion among us: affect, the voice, and performance training The beautiful voice in opera: the injustice of vocal discrimination Voice, rhyme, and aesthetic injustice

A list of reviews in the latest issue of the BJA.

This is a public service announcement. The BJA has published a brand new issue. That is all. academic.oup.com/bjaesthetics... #philsky

What can I say, East Prussia was a sunny place. Bruh's gotta keep out the glare.

Okay - back to work, people.

Now, I'm no historian, but I'm 99% sure those are the sunglasses Kant actually wore on his regular walks.

A hyper-realist cartoon of Immanuel Kant sporting aviator sunglasses.

Kant! Kant!! KANT!!! Those who love Kant are going to love our latest issue, which is chock full of Königsberg's most famous son. academic.oup.com/bjaesthetics... #philsky

Also, check out Steven's article "Value Pluralism in Restoration Aesthetics," forthcoming in the British Journal of Aesthetics: doi.org/10.1093/aest...

New episode! I talk to Steven D. Hales about restoring artworks and other old or rare artifacts. We discuss the competing values that need to be negotiated when restoring an object, how Western and Eastern attitudes toward restoration differ, and much more. Check it out!

youtu.be/xO1oT7IGn24

Without your 3pm tea buddy. 😢

Instructions to Authors The British Journal of Aesthetics publishes high-quality academic papers on any topic related to philosophical aesthetics; we also publish reviews of books, fil

Want to submit a review of a film, performance, or exhibition? Go here for instructions: academic.oup.com/bjaesthetics...

Belgian Solutions Belgian Solutions is a photography project by Brussels-based German artist David Helbich. His works include sound art, performances, and conceptual works.

doi.org/10.1093/aest...

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Fly in League with the Night If you can, take the chance to see this exhibition of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye paintings. This survey of her works opened briefly at Tate Britain in 2020 and

doi.org/10.1093/aest...

Kehinde Wiley at the National Gallery: The Prelude Kehinde Wiley became a household name and widely recognized as one of the most important living American artists with the 2018 unveiling of his official Sm

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Lubaina Himid exhibition at Tate Modern In 1819, a ship called Le Rôdeur was carrying enslaved Africans from Bonny Island in modern Nigeria to Guadeloupe. The ship’s crew and its enslaved cargo w

doi.org/10.1093/aest...

Kara Walker: A Black Hole is Everything a Star Longs to Be Following exhibits in Basel and Frankfurt, Kara Walker’s show A Black Hole is Everything a Star Longs to Be: Drawings 1992–2020 is on display in the De Pon

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