Art and linguistic bodies: a transformative view
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences April 1, 2026 Ståle Finke, Thomas Netland, Mattias Solli 2 citations
This article argues that art transforms everyday experience through symbolic communication, rejecting both the idea that art is entirely separate from daily life and the notion that it is directly continuous with it. Drawing on the enactive concept of humans as linguistic bodies and the philosophy of Hans-Georg Gadamer, the authors propose that art is a linguistic phenomenon enabling original situations of communication. They discuss and critique enactivist perspectives from Shaun Gallagher and Alva Noë, then develop a pluralistic view of art media and a conception of art and art experience as modes of ideational, embodied thought.