Kinds of Expression

Keynote Speakers:

Prof. Henrike Moll (Psychology, University of Southern California)  

Prof. Eli Alshanetsky (Philosophy, Temple University)  

The notion of expression is used in a number of seemingly unrelated contexts and ways.  Poems, paintings and pieces of music are often said to be expressive of various emotions. There is expressionism in art and varieties of expressivism in philosophy. People, as well as nonhuman animals, are often said to be expressing affective states such as fear, anger, wants; people are also said express attitudes, intentions, opinions, even selves. Groups of individuals (a corporation, an administration), too, are said to express sentiments, attitudes, and intentions. In a different vein, perhaps, we also speak of sentences as expressing propositions, words as expressing concepts, and essays as expressing ideas. Expression is a notion in prevalent use, but until recently it has received surprisingly little direct theoretical attention.  

The aim of “Kinds of Expression” is to generate interdisciplinary discussion on varieties or types of expression that are of interest to philosophers, psychologists, linguists, and anthropologists (among others). We encourage contributions that discuss the notion of expression as it has been used in different domains.