James Tartaglia's Outputs (64)

Neutral Nihilism (2025)
Journal Article
Tartaglia, J. (in press). Neutral Nihilism. Journal of Philosophy of Life, 15(1), 1-20

I defend an evaluatively neutral interpretation of nihilism against the negative and positive alternatives, arguing that Negative Nihilism and Sunny Nihilism fail to grasp the significance of nihilism's claim that there is no cosmic goal to human lif... Read More about Neutral Nihilism.

Philosophy as an Instrument of Anti-Authoritarianism: On Ramberg’s Dialogical Metaphilosophy (2025)
Book Chapter
Tartaglia, J. (in press). Philosophy as an Instrument of Anti-Authoritarianism: On Ramberg’s Dialogical Metaphilosophy. In Pragmatism, Metaphysics and Method: Essays for Bjørn Ramberg, edited by Yvonne Hütter-Almerigi and Robert Sinclair. Nordic Studies in Pragmatism

This paper centres on an analysis of Ramberg’s early paper, “Rorty and the Instruments of Philosophy”, which I see as presenting Ramberg’s own original and explicitly Platonic dialogical metaphilosophy, one which I have been greatly influenced by. Th... Read More about Philosophy as an Instrument of Anti-Authoritarianism: On Ramberg’s Dialogical Metaphilosophy.

Is Attoe’s Neutral Nihilism Neutral Enough? (2024)
Journal Article
Tartaglia, J. (in press). Is Attoe’s Neutral Nihilism Neutral Enough?. Filosofia Theoretica: Journal of African Philosophy, Culture and Religions,

In this paper I analyse and critique Aribiah David Attoe’s position in The Question of Life’s Meaning: An African Perspective (2023). While highly sympathetic to his project, since I also defend an evaluatively neutral form of nihilism, I argue that... Read More about Is Attoe’s Neutral Nihilism Neutral Enough?.

Inner Space Philosophy (2024)
Book
Tartaglia, J. (2024). Inner Space Philosophy. Iff Books

Ethnophilosophy as a Global Development Goal (2024)
Journal Article
Tartaglia, J. (2024). Ethnophilosophy as a Global Development Goal. Metaphilosophy, 55(2), 147-161. https://doi.org/10.1111/meta.12678

The ethnophilosophy debate in African philosophy has been primarily concerned with the nature and future direction of African philosophy, but I approach it in search of lessons about philosophy in general. I show how this ongoing debate has been obsc... Read More about Ethnophilosophy as a Global Development Goal.

Wolna wola a wiara w determinizm [polskie tłumaczenie] (2023)
Journal Article
Tartaglia, J. (2023). Wolna wola a wiara w determinizm [polskie tłumaczenie]. Laboratorium Mentis, 1(1), https://doi.org/10.52097/lm.8152

The article addresses the issue of free will and determinism through a discussion of Newcomb’s paradox, presented as a dialogue between the spirits of Lady Luck and Fate. I argue that commitment to determinism, which is suggested by materialist metap... Read More about Wolna wola a wiara w determinizm [polskie tłumaczenie].

Free will and believing in determinism (2023)
Journal Article
Tartaglia, J. (2023). Free will and believing in determinism. Laboratorium Mentis, 1(1), 61-68

The article addresses the issue of free will and determinism through a discussion of Newcomb’s paradox, presented as a dialogue between the spirits of Lady Luck and Fate. I argue that commitment to determinism, which is suggested by materialist metap... Read More about Free will and believing in determinism.

Free will and believing in determinism [English original] (2023)
Journal Article
Tartaglia, J. (2023). Free will and believing in determinism [English original]. Laboratorium Mentis, 1(1), https://doi.org/10.52097/lm.8153

Philosophy and Jena Romanticism (2023)
Journal Article
Tartaglia, J., & Leach, S. (in press). Philosophy and Jena Romanticism. Human Affairs, 33(4), 379-381. https://doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2023-0114

Gyekye and Contemporary Idealism (2023)
Book Chapter
Tartaglia, J. (2023). Gyekye and Contemporary Idealism. In Conversations on African Philosophy of Mind, Consciousness and AI. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36163-0_2

I begin with a defence of both Gyekye’s universalist and African metaphilosophies. In light of these metaphilosophies, I discuss the contemporary Western hegemony of materialist philosophy of mind and its origins in Gilbert Ryle’s The Concept of Mind... Read More about Gyekye and Contemporary Idealism.

Technology and Rorty’s Cultural Politics (2023)
Book Chapter
Tartaglia, J. (2023). Technology and Rorty’s Cultural Politics. In Handbuch Richard Rorty (831–845). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-16253-5_39

In Sect. 1, I point out the tension in Rorty’s commitment to both pragmatism and materialism. In Sect. 2, I explain how Rorty sought to justify this combination, and argue that his account is not only implausible but incomplete. In Sect. 3, I explain... Read More about Technology and Rorty’s Cultural Politics.

Technology and Rorty's Cultural Politics (2022)
Book Chapter
Tartaglia, J. (2022). Technology and Rorty's Cultural Politics. In Handbuch Richard Rorty (831-845). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-16260-3_39-1

Introduction a book symposium on Raymond Tallis's Freedom: An impossible reality (2022)
Journal Article
Tartaglia, J. (2022). Introduction a book symposium on Raymond Tallis's Freedom: An impossible reality. Human Affairs, 21, 371–372. https://doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2022-0030

The Ontology of Freedom (2022)
Journal Article
Tartaglia. (2022). The Ontology of Freedom. Human Affairs, 32(4), 461-473. https://doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2022-0040

I begin by clarifying Tallis’s revisionary terminology, showing how he redraws the lines of the traditional debate about free will by classifying himself as a compatibilist, when in standard terms he is an incompatibilist. I then examine what I take... Read More about The Ontology of Freedom.

How philosophy is presented: An introduction (2021)
Journal Article
Leach, S., & Tartaglia, J. (2021). How philosophy is presented: An introduction. Human Affairs, 31(4), 361 - 369. https://doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2021-0030

'Editorial Material'

A dialogue on / In performance philosophy (2021)
Journal Article
Ó Maoilearca, L. C., & Tartaglia, J. (2021). A dialogue on / In performance philosophy. Human Affairs, 31(4), 370 - 379. https://doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2021-0031

This dialogue was produced by an email exchange, with each email limited to 200 words. The exchange took place between 21 January and 9 June, 2021. No edits were allowed once ‘send’ had been pressed and there was to be no other correspondence between... Read More about A dialogue on / In performance philosophy.

A Defence of Nihilism (2020)
Book
Tartaglia, J., & Llanera, T. (2020). A Defence of Nihilism. (1). Taylor & Francis (Routledge). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429277962

This book offers a philosophical defence of nihilism. The authors argue that the concept of nihilism has been employed pejoratively by almost all philosophers and religious leaders to indicate a widespread cultural crisis of truth, meaning, or morals... Read More about A Defence of Nihilism.

Nihil Sine Deo (2020)
Book Chapter
Tartaglia, J., & Llanera, T. Nihil Sine Deo. In A Defence of Nihilism. (1). Taylor & Francis (Routledge). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429277962-4

Charles Taylor, Hubert Dreyfus, and Sean Kelly address residual fears about nihilism. They represent what we call the moderate view – moderate in the sense that for them, human beings can optimistically hope to overcome the supposedly bad effects of... Read More about Nihil Sine Deo.

Much Ado about Nothing (2020)
Book Chapter
Tartaglia, J., & Llanera, T. Much Ado about Nothing. In A Defence of Nihilism. Taylor & Francis (Routledge). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429277962-1

Popular titles on nihilism in the market today are as bleak as they are catchy. They shock. They scandalise. More importantly, they sell. They appeal to the morbid fascination behind the claims that God is dead, life is meaningless, morality is a sha... Read More about Much Ado about Nothing.

A Brief History of Nihilism (2020)
Book Chapter
Tartaglia, J., & Llanera, T. A Brief History of Nihilism. In A Defence of Nihilism. (1). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429277962-2

This chapter traces the origins of the term ‘nihilism’ (first used by Götze, and then Obereit) and connects it to the historical threat of atheism in the 18th century and the theme of the meaning of life. It shows how the negative status of nihilism... Read More about A Brief History of Nihilism.