Pearl Jam and Philosophy

Stefano Marino is Professor of Aesthetics at the University of Bologna, Italy. He is co-editor of The "Aging" of Adorno's Aesthetic Theory (2021), Kant’s “Critique of Aesthetic Judgment” in the 20th Century (2020) and Philosophical Perspectives on Fashion (Bloomsbury, 2016). He is author of La filosofia dei Radiohead (2021), Aesthetics, Metaphysics, Language: Essays on Heidegger and Gadamer (2015) and La filosofia di Frank Zappa (2014).Andrea Schembari is Assistant Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature at the University of Szczecin, Poland, where he also holds courses on Italian songwriting. He is visiting professor at the Department of Human Sciences of the University of Catania, Italy. He is author and co-editor of articles and volumes on Leonardo Sciascia's work and other Sicilian writers and critics between 18th and 20th centuries, as well as on women's writing in Italy and Europe.

• PrefaceTheodore Gracyk, Minnesota State University, USAIntroductionStefano Marino, University of Bologna, Italy, and Andrea Schembari, Univesity of Szczecin, Poland1. Contingency, (In)significance, and the All-Encompassing Trip: Pearl Jam and the Question of the Meaning of LifeStefano Marino, University of Bologna, Italy2. “Just Like Innocence”: Pearl Jam and the (Re)Discovery of HopeSam Morris, University of South Carolina Beaufort, USA3. Who’s the Elderly Band Behind the Counter in a Small Town?Radu Uszkai, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania, and Mihail-Valentin Cernea, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania4. Making a Choice When There Is No “Better Man”Laura M. Bernhardt, University of Southern Indiana, USA5. That’s Where We’re Living: Determinism and Free Will in “Unthought Known”Enrico Terrone, University of Torino, Italy6. No Code AestheticsAlberto L. Siani, University of Pisa, Italy7. Can Truth Be Found in the Wild?Paolo Stellino, Nova Institute of Philosophy, Portugal8. “They Can Buy, But Can’t Put On My Clothes”: Pearl Jam, Grunge, and Subcultural Authenticity in a Postmodern Fashion ClimateStephanie Kramer, Independent Scholar9. Pearl Jam’s Ghosts: The Ethical Claim Made From the Exiled Space(s) of Homelessness and War—An Aesthetic Response-AbilityJacqueline Moulton, Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts, USA10. Pearl Jam: Responsible Music or the Tragedy of Culture?Cristina Parapar, Sorbonne University (Paris IV), France11. Pearl Jam / Nirvana: A Dialectical Vortex that Revolves around the VoidAlessandro Alfieri, Accademia Delle Belle Arti Di Roma, Italy12. The Tide on the Shell: Pearl Jam and the Aquatic Allegories of ExistenceAndrea Schembari, Univesity of Szczecin, PolandIndex

[The] volume has a very specific purpose, that is to investigate, interpret and decipher the contents and philosophical meanings (at various levels: existential, spiritual, ethical, political, purely aesthetic) that are present in the production of the band, combining passion for music with the deepening and rigor of philosophy and literary criticism of the songs.