Gregory Currie

Gregory Paul Currie () FAHA is a British philosopher and academic, known for his work on philosophical aesthetics and the philosophy of mind. Currie is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of York and Executive Editor of ''Mind & Language''.

Life and work

Currie was educated at the John Ruskin Grammar School in Surrey, at the London School of Economics (LSE), where he took the BSc (Econ), and at the University of California, Berkeley, as a Fulbright Scholar. In 1978 Currie completed his PhD in Philosophy at the LSE, where he worked with Imre Lakatos and produced a thesis examining the objectivism of Frege and Popper. Following Lakatos's death in 1974 Currie and his LSE colleague, John Worrall, co-edited two volumes of Lakatos's philosophical papers, '' The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes, Vol. 1'' and '' Mathematics, Science and Epistemology, Vol. 2'', both published in 1978.

Currie started his career as a scholar of Frege, publishing ''Frege: An Introduction to his Philosophy'' in 1982, but his interests shifted gradually to aesthetics and the philosophy of mind. He published ''An Ontology of Art'' in 1989 and ''The Nature of Fiction'' in 1990. Since the late 1980s Currie has published six research monographs; a collection of articles, ''Arts and Mind'' ( OUP 2004); and nearly 100 research articles on topics in the philosophy of art and the philosophy of mind and cognition. Currie is widely considered to be one of the most influential living Anglophone philosophers of art post-1945.

Currie is Professor of Philosophy at the University of York, serving as Head of the Department of Philosophy from 2013 to 2016. Before moving to York in 2013 he was a professor at the University of Nottingham (2000–13). At Nottingham Currie served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts (2004–07) and then as Director of Research for the School of Humanities (2010–13). Before his return to the UK Currie was Professor and Head of the School of Arts at Flinders University, Adelaide. His first posts were in Australia, at the University of Sydney, and in New Zealand, at the University of Otago.

Currie is Executive Editor of ''Mind & Language'', and a member of the editorial boards for both the '' Australasian Journal of Philosophy'' and the ''British Journal of Aesthetics.'' He is a Past President of the Australasian Association of Philosophy, a past Fellow of St John's College, Oxford, and he has held visiting positions at Clare Hall, Cambridge, the LSE, the Institute for Advanced Study, Australian National University, the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of St Andrews, and the EHESS. Currie was a member of the Philosophy sub-panel for REF 2014.

In July 2019 Currie was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. He was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA) in 1996.

Publications

Books

*''Signs of Agency'' ( OUP, under contract)
*'' Imagining and Knowing: The Shape of Fiction'' (OUP, 2020)
*'' Narratives and Narrators: A Philosophy of Stories'' (OUP, 2010)
*'' Arts and Minds'' (OUP, 2004)
*(with Ian Ravenscroft) '' Recreative Minds: Imagination in Philosophy and Psychology'' (OUP, 2002)
*'' Image and Mind: Film, Philosophy and Cognitive Science'' ( CUP, 1995)
*'' The Nature of Fiction'' (CUP, 1990)
*'' An Ontology of Art'' ( Palgrave Macmillan, 1989)
*''Frege: An Introduction to His Philosophy'' (Harvester Press, 1982)

Edited books

* (with Kieran, Meskin, & Moore) ''Philosophical Aesthetics and the Sciences of Art'' (CUP, 2014)
* (with Kieran, Meskin, & Robson) '' Aesthetics and the Sciences of Mind'' (OUP, 2014)
* (with Alan Musgrave) '' Popper and the Human Sciences'' ( Springer, 1985)
* (with John Worrall) '' Mathematics, Science and Epistemology, Vol. 2'' (CUP, 1978)
* (with John Worrall) '' The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes, Vol. 1'' (CUP, 1978)

Articles & Book Chapters

* Irony, Tragedy, Deception. ''European Journal of Philosophy'' (forthcoming)
* (with Ferguson, Frascaroli, Friend, Green, & Wimmer) Learning from Fiction. In: ''The Routledge Handbook of Fiction and Belief'', eds. James, Kubo, & Lavocat, Routledge (2023), pp. 126–138
* Kinds of Irony: A General Theory. In: ''The Cambridge Handbook of Irony and Thought'', eds. Gibbs, Jr. & Colston, CUP (2023), pp. 17–37
* (with Jon Robson) Authenticity and Implicature. ''Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 81 (2023), pp. 387–391
* (with Wimmer, Friend, & Ferguson) Opening the Closed Mind? Effects of Reading Literary Fiction on Need for Closure and Creativity. ''Creativity Research Journal'' (online, June 2022)
* (with Petterson, Friend, & Ferguson) The Effect of Narratives on Attitudes Toward Animal Welfare and Pro-Social Behaviour on Behalf of Animals. ''Poetics'' 94 (2022)
* (with Jon Robson
Aesthetics and Cognitive Science
In: ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2022)'', ed. E.N. Zalta
* (with Wimmer, Friend, & Ferguson) Testing Correlates of Lifetime Exposure to Print Fiction Following a Multi-Method Approach. ''Imagination, Cognition and Personality'' 41 (2021), pp. 54–86
Style and the Agency in Art
In: '' Art, Representation, and Make-Believe'', ed. S. Sedivy, Routledge (2021), pp. 265–283
*(with Wimmer, Friend, & Ferguson) Reading Fictional Narratives to Improve Social and Moral Cognition. ''Frontiers in Communication'' 5 (2021): 611935
*(with Jacopo Frascaroli) Poetry and the Possibility of Paraphrase. ''Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 79 (2021), pp. 428–439
*(with Xuanqi Zhu) Aesthetic Sense and Social Cognition: A Story from the Early Stone Age. ''Synthese'' (2021), pp. 6553–6572
* Pictures and their Surfaces. In: ''The Pleasure of Pictures: Pictorial Experience and Aesthetic Appreciation'', eds. Pelletier & Voltolini, Routledge (2019), pp. 249–269
* Visually Attending to Fictional Things. In: ''Perceptual Imagination and Perceptual Memory'', eds. Macpherson & Dorsch, OUP (2018), pp. 186–208
* (with Tzachi Zamir) ''Macbeth'', ''Throne of Blood'', and the Idea of a Reflective Adaptation. ''Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 76 (2018), pp. 297–308
* (with Jerrold Levinson) An Error Concerning Noses. ''Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 75 (2017), pp. 9–13
* (with Anna Ichino) Truth and Trust in Fiction. In: ''Art and Belief'', eds. Sullivan-Bissett, Bradley, & Noordhof, OUP (2017), pp. 63–82
* Models As Fictions, Fictions As Models. ''The Monist'' 99 (2016), pp. 296–310
* Methods in the Philosophy of Literature and Film. In: ''The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Methodology'', eds. Cappelen, Gendler, & Hawthorne, OUP (2016), pp. 641–656
* Aesthetic Explanation and the Archaeology of Symbols. ''British Journal of Aesthetics'' 56 (2016), pp. 233–246
* Standing in the Last Ditch: On the Communicative Intentions of Fiction Makers. ''Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 72 (2014), pp. 351–363
* On Getting Out of the Armchair to do Aesthetics. In: ''Philosophical Methodology: The Armchair or the Laboratory?'', ed. M. Haug, Routledge (2014), pp. 435–449
* Creativity and the Insight That Literature Brings. In: ''The Philosophy of Creativity: New Essays'', eds. Paul & Kaufman, OUP (2014), pp. 39–61
* (with Anna Ichino) Imagination and Make-Believe. In: ''The Routledge Companion to Aesthetics (3rd edition)'', eds. Gaut & Lopes, Routledge (2013), pp. 320–329
* Literature and Truthfulness. In: ''Rationis Defensor: Essays in Honour of Colin Cheyne'', ed. J. Maclaurin, Springer (2012), pp. 23–31
* (with Anna Ichino) Aliefs Don't Exist, Though Some of their Relatives Do. ''Analysis'' 72 (2012), pp. 788–798
* The Master of the Masek Beds: Handaxes, Art, and the Minds of Early Humans. In: ''The Aesthetic Mind: Philosophy and Psychology'', eds. Schellekens & Goldie, OUP (2011), pp. 9–31
* The Irony in Pictures. ''British Journal of Aesthetics'' 51 (2011), pp. 149–167
* Empathy for Objects. In: ''Empathy: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives'', eds. Coplan & Goldie, OUP (2011), pp. 82–95
* Art and the Anthropologists. In: ''Aesthetic Science: Connecting Minds, Brains, and Experience'', eds. Shimamura & Palmer, OUP (2011), pp. 107–128
* Tragedy. ''Analysis'' 70 (2010), pp. 632–638
* Narration, Imitation, and Point of View. In: ''A Companion to the Philosophy of Literature'', eds. Hagberg & Jost, Wiley-Blackwell (2010), pp. 331–349
* Bergman and the Film Image. ''Midwest Studies in Philosophy'' 34 (2010), pp. 323–339
* Actual Art, Possible Art, and Art's Definition. ''Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 68 (2010), pp. 235–241
* (with Mitchell & Ziegler) Is There an Alternative to Simulation and Theory in Understanding the Mind?. ''British Journal of Developmental Psychology'' 27 (2009), pp. 561–567
* (with Mitchell & Ziegler) Two Routes to Perspective: Simulation and Rule‐Use as Approaches to Mentalizing. ''British Journal of Developmental Psychology'' 27 (2009), pp. 513–543
* Narrative and the Psychology of Character. ''Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 67 (2009), pp. 61–71
* Some Ways to Understand People. ''Philosophical Explorations'' 11 (2008), pp. 211–218
* Pictures of King Arthur: Photography and the Power of Narrative. In: ''Photography and Philosophy: Essays on the Pencil of Nature'', ed. S. Walden, Wiley-Blackwell (2008), pp. 265–283
* Echo et Feintise: Quelle est la Difference et Qui a Raison? ''Philosophiques'' 35 (2008), pp. 13–23
* Visual Conceptual Art. In: ''Philosophy and Conceptual Art'', eds. Goldie & Schellekens, OUP (2007), pp. 33–50
* Framing Narratives. ''Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements'' 60 (2007), pp. 17–42
* Both Sides of the Story: Explaining Events in a Narrative. ''Philosophical Studies'' 135 (2007), pp. 49–63
* A Claim on the Reader. In: ''Imaginative Minds'', ed. I. Roth, OUP (2007), pp. 169–186
* Narrative Representation of Causes. ''Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 64 (2006), pp. 309–316
* Why Irony is Pretence. In: ''The Architecture of the Imagination: New Essays on Pretence, Possibility, and Fiction'', ed. S. Nichols, OUP (2006), pp. 111–133
* Rationality, Decentring, and the Evidence for Pretence in Non-Human Animals. In: ''Rational Animals?'', eds. Hurley & Nudds, OUP (2006), pp. 275–292
* (with Nicholas Jones) McGinn on Delusion and Imagination. ''Philosophical Books'' 47 (2006), pp. 306–313
* (with Scott Campbell) Against Beck: In Defence of Risk Analysis. ''Philosophy of the Social Sciences'' 36 (2006), pp. 149–172
* Anne Brontë and the Uses of the Imagination. In: ''Contemporary Debates in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art'', ed. M. Kieran, Blackwell (2006), pp. 209–221. Reprinted in: ''Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art (second edition)'', eds. Lamarque & Olsen, Wiley-Blackwell (2019), pp. 393–401
* Interpretation in Art. In: ''The Oxford Handbook of Aesthetics'', ed. J. Levinson, OUP (2005), pp. 291–306
* (with Mitchell & Ziegler
How Does Narrative Cue Children's Perspective Taking?
''Developmental Psychology'' 41 (2005), pp. 115–123
* The Representational Revolution. ''The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 62 (2004), pp. 119–128. Reprinted in ''Arts and Minds'' (2004: ch. 12).
* (with Jon Jureidini) Narrative and Coherence. ''Mind & Language'' 19 (2004), pp. 409–427

The Capacities that Enable us to Produce and Consume Art
In: ''Imagination, Philosophy and the Arts'', eds. Kieran & Lopes, Routledge (2003), pp. 294–305
* Cognitivism. In: ''A Companion to Film Theory'', eds. Miller & Stam, Wiley-Blackwell (2003), pp. 105–122. Revised and reprinted as 'Cognitive Film Theory' in ''Arts and Minds'' (2004: ch. 8).
* Characters and Contingency. ''Dialectica'' 57 (2003), pp. 137–148. Reprinted in ''Arts and Minds'' (2004: ch. 2).
* Imagination as Motivation. ''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society'' 102 (2002), pp. 201–216
* Desire in Imagination. In: ''Conceivability and Possibility'', eds. Gendler & Hawthorne, OUP (2002), pp. 201–221
* (with Jon Jureidini
Delusion, Rationality, Empathy
''Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology'' 8 (2001), pp. 159–162
* Preserving the Traces: An Answer to Noël Carroll. ''The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 58 (2000), pp. 306–308
* Imagination, Delusion and Hallucinations. ''Mind & Language'' 15 (2000), pp. 168–183
* (with Kim Sterelny) How to think about the Modularity of Mind‐Reading. ''Philosophical Quarterly'' 50 (2000), pp. 145–160
* A Note on ''Art'' and Historical Concepts. ''British Journal of Aesthetics'' 40 (2000), pp. 186–190
* Visible Traces: Documentary and the Contents of Photographs. ''The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 57 (1999), pp. 285–297
* Narrative Desire. In: ''Passionate Views: Film, Cognition, and Emotion'', ed. Plantinga & Smith, Johns Hopkins University Press (1999), pp. 183–199
* Is Factuality a Matter of Content?. ''Behavioral and Brain Sciences'' 22 (1999), p. 763
* (with Catherine Abell) Internal and External Pictures. ''Philosophical Psychology'' 12 (1999), pp. 429–445
* Can There be a Literary Philosophy of Time?. In: ''The Arguments of Time'', ed. J. Butterfield, OUP (1999), pp. 43–63. Reprinted in ''Arts and Minds'' (2004: ch. 5).
* Pretence, Pretending and Metarepresenting. ''Mind & Language'' 13 (1998), pp. 35–55. Revised and reprinted as ' Pretence and Pretending' in ''Arts and Minds'' (2004: ch. 10).
* Tense and Egocentricity in Fiction. In: Questions of Time and Tense, ed. R. Le Poidevin, OUP (1998), pp. 265–283
* Realism of Character and the Value of Fiction. In: ''Aesthetics and Ethics: Essays at the Intersection'', ed. J. Levinson, CUP (1998), pp. 161–181
* The Paradox of Caring: Fiction and the Philosophy of Mind. In: ''Emotion and the Arts'', eds. Hjort & Laver, Oxford University Press (1997), pp. 63–77
* The Film Theory that Never was: A Nervous Manifesto. In: ''Film Theory and Philosophy'', eds. Allen & Smith, OUP (1997), pp. 42–59
* On Being Fictional. ''The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 55 (1997), pp. 425–427
* (with Ian Ravenscroft) Mental Simulation and Motor Imagery. ''Philosophy of Science'' 64 (1997), pp. 161–180
* Simulation-Theory, Theory-Theory and the Evidence from Autism. In: ''Theories of Theories of Mind'', eds. Carruthers & Smith, CUP (1996), pp. 242–256
* Film, Reality, and Illusion. In: ''Post-Theory: Reconstructing Film Studies'', eds. Bordwell & Carroll, University of Wisconsin Press (1996), pp. 325–344
* Visual Imagery as the Simulation of Vision. ''Mind & Language'' 10 (1995), pp. 25–44
* Unreliability Refigured: Narrative in Literature and Film. ''The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 53 (1995), pp. 19–29
* The Moral Psychology of Fiction. ''Australasian Journal of Philosophy'' 73 (1995), pp. 250–259
* Imagination and Simulation: Aesthetics Meets Cognitive Science. In: ''Mental Simulation'', eds. Davies & Stone, Blackwell (1995), pp. 151–169
* The Long Goodbye: The Imaginary Language of Film. ''British Journal of Aesthetics'' 33 (1993), pp. 207–219
* On the Road to Antirealism. ''Inquiry'' 36 (1993), pp. 465–483
* Interpretation and Objectivity. ''Mind'' 102 (1993), pp. 413–428
* Impersonal Imagining: A Reply to Jerrold Levinson. Philosophical Quarterly 43 (1993) pp. 79–82
* Aliens, Too. ''Analysis'' 53 (1993), pp. 116–118
* McTaggart at the Movies. ''Philosophy'' 67 (1992), pp. 343–355
* Work and Text. ''Mind'' 100 (1991), pp. 325–340. Reprinted in ''Arts and Minds'' (2004: ch. 1).
* Visual Fictions. ''Philosophical Quarterly'' 41 (1991), pp. 129–143
* Text without Context: Some Errors of Stanley Fish. ''Philosophy and Literature'' 15 (1991), pp. 212–228
* Photography, Painting and Perception. ''The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 49 (1991), pp. 23–29
* Interpreting Fictions. In: ''On Literary Theory and Philosophy'', eds. Freadman & Reinhardt, Palgrave Macmillan (1991), pp. 96–112
* Supervenience, Essentialism and Aesthetic Properties. ''Philosophical Studies'' 58 (1990), pp. 243–257
* Metaphysical Individualism. In: ''Freedom and Rationality'', eds. D'Agostino & Jarvie, Springer (1989), pp. 47–65
* Realism in the Social Sciences: Social Kinds and Social Laws. In: ''Relativism and Realism in Science'', ed. R. Nola, Springer (1988), pp. 205–227
* Fictional Names. ''Australasian Journal of Philosophy'' 66 (1988), pp. 471–488
* Remarks on Frege's Conception of Inference. ''Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic'' 28 (1987), pp. 55–68
* Milne on the Context Principle. ''Mind'' 96 (1987), pp. 543–544
* Works of Fiction and Illocutionary Acts. ''Philosophy and Literature'' 10 (1986), pp. 304–308
* Fictional Truth. ''Philosophical Studies'' 50 (1986), pp. 195–212
* Continuity and Change in Frege's Philosophy of Mathematics. In: ''Frege Synthesized'', eds. Haaparanta & Hintikka, Springer (1986), pp. 345–373
* What is Fiction?. ''The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'' 43 (1985), pp. 385–392

The Authentic and the Aesthetic
''American Philosophical Quarterly'' 22 (1985), pp. 153–160
* The Analysis of Thoughts. ''Australasian Journal of Philosophy'' 63 (1985), pp. 283–298
* Individualism and Global Supervenience. ''British Journal for the Philosophy of Science'' 35 (1984), pp. 345–358
* Frege's Metaphysical Argument. ''Philosophical Quarterly'' 34 (1984), pp. 329–342
* Frege on Thoughts: A Reply. ''Mind'' 93 (1984), pp. 256–258
* (with Peter Eggenberger) Knowledge of Meaning. ''Noûs'' 17 (1983), pp. 267–279
* Interpreting Frege: A Reply to Michael Dummett. ''Inquiry'' 26 (1983), pp. 345–359
* Frege, Sense and Mathematical Knowledge. ''Australasian Journal of Philosophy'' 60 (1982), pp. 5–19
* A Note on Realism. ''Philosophy of Science'' 49 (1982), pp. 263–267
* The Origin of Frege's Realism. ''Inquiry'' 24 (1981), pp. 448–454
* The Role of Normative Assumptions in Historical Explanation. ''Philosophy of Science'' 47 (1980), pp. 456–473
* Frege on Thoughts. ''Mind'' 89 (1980), pp. 234–248
* (with Graham Oddie) Changing Numbers. ''Theoria'' 46 (1980), pp. 148–164
* Lakatos's Philosophy of Mathematics. ''Synthese'' 42 (1979), pp. 335–351
* Popper's Evolutionary Epistemology: A Critique. ''Synthese'' 37 (1978), pp. 413–431
* Frege's Realism. ''Inquiry'' 21 (1978), pp. 218–222
* Was Frege a Linguistic Philosopher?. ''British Journal for the Philosophy of Science'' 27 (1976), pp. 79–92

References

External links

Personal website

University of York profile

British Academy profile
* Leverhulme Trust Project
Learning from Fiction: A Philosophical and Psychological Study

Interview with Hans Maes
Extract from ''Conversations on Art and Aesthetics'' (2017, OUP)


Philosophy Bites: 'Gregory Currie on the Philosophy of Film'
*
The Epistemology of Narrative
(2023) from ''Narrative Philosophy and Sacred Narrative'' workshop at Tantur Ecumenical Institute, Jerusalem.
*
The Visible Surface: Painting, Photography, Cinema
(2015) at the ''Scottish Aesthetics Forum''.
*
Marks on Images in Painting, Photography and Cinematography
(2014) from ''Painting, Facture and Emotion: History of Art, Art Theory, Philosophy, Neuroscience'' workshop.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Currie, Gregory
Living people
Academics of the University of Nottingham
Academics of the University of York
Alumni of the London School of Economics
20th-century Australian philosophers
21st-century Australian philosophers
Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
Fellows of the British Academy
Year of birth missing (living people)