Do not fear mistakes - there are none

in: Alessandro Bertinetto und Marcello Ruta (Hg.): Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Improvisation in the Arts, London: Routledge, 21-32., 2021

Rout!edge is an impri11t efthe Taylar & Fra11cis Croup, an it1fonna busi11ess

Open Philosophy, 2020

The article presents the conceptual groundwork for an understanding of the essentially improvisational dimension of human rationality. It aims to clarify how we should think about important concepts pertinent to central aspects of human practices, namely, the concepts of improvisation, normativity, habit, and freedom. In order to understand the sense in which human practices are essentially improvisational, it is first necessary to criticize misconceptions about improvisation as lack of preparation and creatio ex nihilo. Second, it is necessary to solve the theoretical problems that derive from misunderstandings concerning the notions of normativity, habit, and freedom– misunderstandings that revolve around the idea that rationality is a form that is developed out of itself and thus works in a way similar to algorithms. One can only make sense of normativity, habit, and freedom if one understands that they all involve conflictual relationships with the world and with others, which in turn enables one to adequately take into account their constitutive connection to improvisation, properly understood. In outlining these conceptual connections, we want to prepare the foundations for an explanation of rational practices as improvisational practices. The article concludes by stating that human rational life is improvisatory because the conditions of human practice arise out of practice itself.

Essay, 3.696 words Sher Doruff examines improvisation in the potentially activist use of mobile devices, focusing on the recent 'moving of the squares' that describes Black Lives Matter. Doruff observes that in live-streaming acts of injustice, our real time responses reveal what is most necessary to us. The author brings in Brian Massumi's work on affect, and Fred Moten's and George Lewis's research within the realm of African-American theory, to better understand how, in ensemble, we improvise to seek a justice-to-come, but one we are not willing to wait for.

The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 2010

2018

This is a collaborative article that discusses the practice of improvisation from multiple perspectives and with a critical emphasis on gender and the potential for subversion.

Free Improvisation - history and perspectives, 2018

The aim of this article is to discuss some philosophical aspects of improvisation under a particular perspective. Following the line of thoughts constructed during that speech I will suggest some ways to understand the contributions of improvisation to philosophy. The question I will try to answer will be: «Which is the philosophical appeal of improvisation?», or, to put it differently, «What does improvisation offer to philosophy?». Before articulating possible answers to these questions, without presuming completeness, a clarification is in order. While answering the questions just expressed, I principally aim at pointing out philosophical aspects of improvisation both as creative performance in real-time and as that artistic attitude which is not opened to, and sometimes even (although this formulation sounds paradoxical) in search of, creative possibilities, unforeseen encounters, and new standards of value.

2018

2013