[PHILOS-L] Call for papers - Philosophy and Styles of Thought

[Leonardo Geri]

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The present issue of the italian scientific journal of Il Cannocchiale aims to reflect on the following question: can we speak of “styles of thought” within philosophy? Is it possible, in other words, for philosophical discourse to take shape in different styles of thinking that are nonetheless all recognizable as philosophical? And what is the relationship between styles of thought and the literary forms through which they are expressed?

To answer these questions affirmatively means to broaden the traditional notion of style. Style would no longer be understood merely as a “particular mode of literary expression, insofar as constant features can be identified in it (in the manner of approaching the subject matter, in the expression of thought, in lexical, grammatical, and syntactic choices, in the articulation of sentences, etc.), characteristic of an era, a tradition, a literary genre, or an individual author” (Treccani Encyclopedia). Rather, style would be understood as a specific way of practicing philosophical discourse: adopting a particular attitude toward one’s object of inquiry; employing specific heuristic and/or justificatory procedures that are characteristic of such attitudes; making use of particular strategies for justifying one’s theses (demonstration, argumentation, problem-solving, exemplification, narration, etc.); choosing a specific natural language and/or a specific type of language (formal, technical, or ordinary); thus employing a particular lexicon and expressing oneself through literary forms deemed appropriate (treatise, discourse, essay, article, collection of aphorisms, etc.).

In this sense, philosophy appears as a plural and diversified enterprise, while nonetheless maintaining a common and universal trait that qualifies it as philosophy. In contrast to the increasing homogenization that philosophical research is exhibiting in the context of the internationalization of studies, and to the resulting standardization of forms of communication (the so-called scientific article written in a vehicular language, namely English), this issue aims instead to explore the plurality and richness of philosophies that have practiced, and continue to practice, different styles of thought and writing.

Possible topics include:

1. Contemporary philosophical styles (phenomenology, analytic philosophy, hermeneutics, feminist philosophy, etc.)

2. Styles of thought in non-Western philosophies

3. Authors who have reflected on the question of their own philosophical style or that of others

4. Literary genres employed by philosophers throughout the history of philosophy

5. Advantages and disadvantages of the use of a vehicular language

Deadline:
The deadline for the submission of articles is April 30, 2026.

Submissions and inquiries:
Interested authors are invited to contact the editorial board at ilcannocchia...@gmail.com for any questions and to receive the editorial guidelines on the basis of which the article should be prepared.

Kind regards,

Leonardo Geri (editor-in-chief).

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