The enactive elements of style
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences March 3, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s11097-026-10142-6 via Springer Nature
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe author examines Alva Noë's use of the concept of style to describe how people access the world and form their selves, drawing on his earlier work in Action in Perception. Style is presented as an expansive, flexible concept that can be understood in enactive terms—as communal processes of form-taking that develop, entwine, and differentiate historically. This relational view of style as socially constituted does not conflict with its common use to describe the cohesive activity of individuals, objects, or places, but rather clarifies it.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Style Enactive approach Historicity Modes of becoming Linguistic bodies |
| Key finding | Style can be understood enactively as a relational, historically developing communal process of form-taking that clarifies rather than conflicts with its common usage. |
Abstract
I reflect on Alva Noë’s appeal to the concept of style to describe how we access the world and how we become our own selves. Noë’s recent work has addressed the topic of style directly, but the strands of his perspective are woven throughout his Action in Perception book, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary with this special issue. Style is an expansive, flexible concept. It can be examined in enactive terms—indeed, it invites such examination. This leads to a relational understanding of style as communal processes of form-taking that develop, entwine, and differentiate historically. The social constitution of style does not conflict with the common use of the term to describe the cohesive activity of particular individuals, objects, or places. Rather, it clarifies it.