Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dominic has taught philosophy at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the Universities of Dundee and Edinburgh. He wrote his PhD on tensions between the approaches of Gilles Deleuze and Alain Badiou, and his current research focuses on philosophy of technology and media. Specifically, Dominic is interested in bringing the continental tradition in philosophy (e.g. phenomenology, critical theory, poststructuralism, new forms of realism and materialism) to bear on philosophy of technology and media.
Dominic’s latest book is Exceptional Technologies: A Continental Philosophy of Technology. His next project involves thinking about how the scope of philosophy of technology can be broadened to speak to issues in philosophy of education, design, and creativity (from philosophy of technology to philosophy through technology).
Dominic would welcome PhD proposals in three areas in particular: 1.) philosophy of technology and media, 2.) the work and legacy of Gilles Deleuze, 3.) the work and legacy of Walter Benjamin.
Dominic currently teaches on modules dedicated to history of philosophy, philosophy of mind, existentialism, aesthetics, philosophy of technology, Wittgenstein, and phenomenology. He teaches on both the Art and Philosophy (AP) BA and the Master of Fine Arts with Arts and Humanities (MFA-AH) run between Humanities and Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. He is a member of the Scottish Centre for Continental Philosophy, and plays in a band called Kaddish.
Top tip for students:
Before studying Philosophy, Dominic recommends that you read as many of the classics of Philosophy as possible, for example, Plato's Republic, and that you think about how philosophy can be found in even the most minor everyday experiences. Think big and small at once, and allow your imaginations to be set ablaze!
Research
Dominic’s current major research interests are:
- Philosophy of Technology
- The work and legacy of Gilles Deleuze
- The work and legacy of Walter Benjamin
He would welcome PhD proposals in these areas in particular.
Dominic has research and teaching competencies in the following areas:
- History of Philosophy (Descartes, Political Philosophy, German Idealism, Phenomenology – especially Husserl, Heidegger and Sartre)
- Aesthetics (especially Kant, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer)
- Modern Continental Philosophy (Deleuze, Badiou)
- The essayist tradition in Philosophy (as found in the works of thinkers like Emerson, Valéry, James and Thoreau)
- Crossovers between the putative analytic/continental divide in Philosophy (e.g. Wittgenstein, Sellars, Chalmers, Clark, 4e cognitive science).
He is a member of the Scottish Centre for Continental Philosophy
AHRC funded studentships are available in these research areas
Teaching
Undergraduate Modules
Descartes, Thought and Reality (Descartes, Philosophy of Mind, Introduction to Phenomenology) - PI11007
Introduction to Aesthetics (History of Aesthetics – Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Hume, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche) - PI11005
Thinking About Life: Existentialism, Lifeworld and Dasein (Existentialism – Kierkegaard, Ortega Y Gasset, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty) - PI21004
Understanding Media: The Philosophical and Cultural Impacts of Technology (Philosophy of Technology) - PI31019
Phenomenology: Lifeworld Philosophy (Phenomenology – both classical and modern, from Husserl to the implications of phenomenology for neuroscience and AI) – PI32023
Wittgenstein (Wittgenstein – both early and late) - PI41014
Postgraduate Modules
Philosophies of Imagination (examining themes and thinkers related to creativity and imagination – Kant, Bachelard, Bergson, Thoreau) – PI51026
New Realisms and Materialisms (looking at developments in recent Continental Philosophy: from Deleuze to thinkers including Jane Bennett, Quentin Meillassoux, Ray Brassier, and Elizabeth Grosz) – PI51027
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Keywords
- B Philosophy (General)
- Technology
- Media
- Continental Philosophy
- Walter Benjamin
- Gilles Deleuze
- Immanuel Kant
- Ludwig Wittgenstein
- Philosophy of Technology
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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ENERGY: A (Philosophy of) Practice
Lushetich, N. (Investigator), Rowland, C. (Investigator), Sellbach, U. (Investigator) & Smith, D. (Investigator)
1/10/23 → 30/09/27
Project: Research
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Rehearsing Death. A Cultural Analysis Of Death Procedures In Single Player Role Playing Video Games - Joint with University of Abertay
Lushetich, N. (Investigator) & Smith, D. (Investigator)
Project: Research
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InGAME - Innovation for Games and Media Enterprise (Joint with Abertay University and St Andrews University)
Ballie, J. (Investigator), Beech, N. (Investigator), Harris, P. (Investigator), Head, A. (Investigator), Linsley, J. (Investigator), Livesey, J. (Investigator), Murray, C. (Investigator), Rowan, J. (Investigator), Sellbach, U. (Investigator), Smith, D. (Investigator), Taylor, A. (Investigator), Valentine, L. (Investigator), Vaughan, P. (Investigator), Ward, M. (Investigator) & Yeung, H. (Investigator)
1/10/18 → 31/03/24
Project: Research
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An Aesthetics of Care
Croudace, T. (Investigator), George, J. (Investigator) & Smith, D. (Investigator)
Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities
1/10/16 → 30/09/19
Project: Research
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Existentialism and Technology
Smith, D., 25 Jan 2024, The Bloomsbury Handbook of Existentialism. Reynolds, J., Woodward , A. & Joseph, F. (eds.). 2 ed. London: Bloomsbury, p. 236-251 15 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
Open AccessFile66 Downloads (Pure) -
Peter Szendy: Images of Energy/Energies of the Image Podcast: An interview between Dominic Smith and Peter Szendy
Smith, D. (Lead / Corresponding author), Aug 2024Research output: Non-textual form › Digital or Visual Products
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Reimagining AI: Introduction
Smith, D. (Lead / Corresponding author), Lushetich, N., Röck, T., Carvalho, E., Lewis, K. & Schweikert, G., 19 Jun 2023, In: Journal of Aesthetics and Phenomenology. 9, 2, p. 87-99 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)14 Downloads (Pure) -
Contingency and Plasticity in Everyday Technologies
Lushetich, N., Campbell, I. & Smith, D., 15 Dec 2022, London and New York: Rowman & Littlefield. 336 p. (Media Philosophy)Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Necessity, entailment, shared agonism
Smith, D. (Lead / Corresponding author), Dec 2022, In: Foundations of Science. 27, p. 1317-1325 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review
Open AccessFile75 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
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Programme Without Transmission: The Translatability of Benjamin's Radio Work as a Philosophy of Technology, Place, and Education
Smith, D. (Speaker)
29 Oct 2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Programme without Transmission: The Translatability of Benjamin’s Radio Work as a Philosophy of Technology, Place, and Education
Smith, D. (Speaker)
4 Dec 2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Philosophy Speaker Series
Sellbach, U. (Participant), Ruda, F. (Participant), Woodward, A. (Organiser), Smith, D. (Participant), Röck, T. (Organiser) & Keohane, O. (Participant)
1 Jun 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Other event
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Contested & Erased Energy Knowledge
Smith, D. (Organiser), White, J. (Organiser), Sellbach, U. (Organiser), Lushetich, N. (Organiser) & Lear, R. (Organiser)
31 Oct 2024 → 2 Nov 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Press/Media
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Living Philosophy - Philosophy of Technology Podcast
Smith, D., Coeckelbergh , M. & Mei, T.
16/09/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Never mind truth and lies - Trumpism rejects the very idea of making sense
2/03/17
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research