Mikael Pettersson
M.A. with a Major in Theoretical Philosophy (2004).
PhD Candidate, Department of Philosophy, Stockholm University (since 2004).
Member of The Research School in Aesthetic Studies, Stockholm University (since 2007).
Office: D824
Phone: +46-8-161018
E-mail: mikael.pettersson@philosophy.su.se
Research
My primary research interest is in aesthetics and the philosophy of art. My Bachelor's thesis was a defence of Davidson's sceptical views on 'metaphorical meaning,' and my Master's thesis was a critique of Lewis and Currie on 'truth in fiction.'
Currently, I am working on a thesis on the philosophy of photography. Some of the issues addressed are epistemological in character, some relate to topics within the philosophy of perception, and some belong to more traditional aesthetics. Other philosophical interests include metaphysics, philosophy of mind (especially imagination and mental images), and Schopenhauer's philosophy.
Teaching
Spring 2009:
– 'Perception and Depiction,' Lingnan University, Hong Kong.
Fall 2009:
– 'The History of Theoretical
Philosophy.' (From Thales to Kant. Tutorials.)
– 'Currents in Modern Philosophy.'
(Tutorials on Nietzsche, Moore, Goodman, Gadamer, et al.)
2010:
–
Lectures on 'Tools,' 'Theorising
Art I,' and 'Theorising Art II,' Master's
Programme in Curating Art, Dept of Art History, Stockholm University.
– 'Aesthetics,' Linkšping University.
Work in Progress
– 'Depictive Traces: On the Phenomenology of Photography.' (pdf)
– 'Interactive Art: Notes on Goodman, Hacking and the Creation of Art.'
– 'The Naked and the Dead: Photographic Aesthetics and Anaesthetics.'
– 'Shot in the Dark: Notes on Photography and Causality.'
External Talks
– 'What's the Story? On the Issue of Truth in Fiction,' Fact and Fiction in Narrative: An Interdisciplinary Approach, …rebro University, April 2004.
– 'Walton's Jolt: On the Powers of Photography,' CMM Graduate Conference, University of Leeds, June 2007.
– 'Photography, Traces and Phenomenology,' Lingnan University, March 2009.
