Abstract
Research-creation is a way of researching socio-material processes as art practices. Scholars and artists pursuing research-creation often reference Whitehead’s conceptualisation of the ‘proposition’ as a key theoretical device for speculative and creative work. However, this scholarship perhaps downplays the truth/false distinction that is essential to Whitehead’s account of the proposition in favour of the proposition’s potential as a speculative tool. In this paper, I explore the proposition as conceptualized by Whitehead. I think with a series of music theory concepts to theorise how Whitehead’s proposition explores a modality of truth. I then discuss how the concept is taken up in research-creation. I frictionally bring together Whitehead’s articulation of the proposition with that of the early Wittgenstein’s. Finally, I discuss some promises and perils of this approach, with direct relevance to questions around research method and methodology in the social sciences. This article is of relevance to scholars interested in research applications of process philosophy, graduate or post-graduate students interested in an introduction to Whitehead, and research-creation practitioners interested in the proposition.
Highlights
Research-creation, as I understand it, is a way of researching socio-material processes as art practices: it is both the doing and theorising of research (Truman & Springgay, 2015), and is animated by a deliberately queer, crip, and anti-colonial perspective (Loveless, 2019; Shannon, 2020; Truman et al, 2019)
Whitehead expanded significantly on this “ordinary logical account of the ‘proposition’” and used the term in complex ways in his later ‘organic’ philosophy, which is the focus of this paper (Whitehead, 1929/1978, p. 25)
Whitehead doesn’t outright reject the truth-value of a proposition, he’s much more interested in what a proposition does. He writes: “in the real world it is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true
Summary
Research-creation, as I understand it, is a way of researching socio-material processes as art practices: it is both the doing and theorising of research (Truman & Springgay, 2015), and is animated by a deliberately queer, crip, and anti-colonial perspective (Loveless, 2019; Shannon, 2020; Truman et al, 2019). Music research-creation duo Oblique Curiosities’ proposition ‘Queer the Landscape!’ during their long-distance walk along St Cuthbert’s Way lured particular feelings that ended up as songs (Truman & Shannon, 2018) In this way, the imperative verbs “LISTEN” and “Queer!” might be thought of as performing propositionally because they thread truth with speculation. The imperative verbs “LISTEN” and “Queer!” might be thought of as performing propositionally because they thread truth with speculation Such propositions may not be subjected to a binary true/false judgement, but Whitehead might argue that they are still propositions because they restrict potential (sound or queerness) to a specific relational nexus (the city or the landscape). I’ve used the word ‘feeling’ in quite an apolitical and ill-defined way: I want to be more specific about how I’m conceptualising ‘feeling’
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