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
Network
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InGAME - Innovation for Games and Media Enterprise (Joint with Abertay University and St Andrews University)
Ballie, J., Beech, N., Harris, P., Head, A., Linsley, J., Livesey, J., Murray, C., Rowan, J., Sellbach, U., Smith, D., Taylor, A., Valentine, L., Vaughan, P., Ward, M. & Yeung, H.
Arts & Humanities Research Council, Abertay University
1/10/18 → 31/03/23
Project: Research
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An Aesthetics of Care
Croudace, T., George, J. & Smith, D.
Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities
1/10/16 → 30/09/19
Project: Research
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Research output
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Disastrous Communication: Walter Benjamin's 'The Railway Disaster at the Firth of Tay'
Smith, D., 14 Jan 2021, Miscommunication: Errors, Mistakes, Media. Barker, T. & Korolkova, M. (eds.). 1 ed. Bloomsbury, 15 p. (Thinking Media).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
Open AccessFile19 Downloads (Pure) -
Necessity, Entailment, Shared Agonism
Smith, D., 21 Apr 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Foundations of Science. 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review
Open AccessFile22 Downloads (Pure) -
Taking Exception: Philosophy of Technology as a Multidimensional Problem Space
Smith, D., 5 Apr 2021, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Foundations of Science. 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile30 Downloads (Pure) -
Theory of the Gimmick: Aesthetic Judgment and Capitalist Form: Review Essay Theory of the Gimmick: Aesthetic Judgement and Capitalist Form, Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2020. 416 pp
Smith, D., 2021, In: New Global Studies. 0, 0, p. 1-8 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Downloads (Pure) -
‘Localising Philosophy, Democratising Technology’: exploring the philosophy of technology with children using creative approaches
Robb, A. & Smith, D., 26 Feb 2021.Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review
Activities
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Disastrous Communication: Benjamin's Philosophy of Technology, Place and Education.
Dominic Smith (Speaker)
27 Jan 2022Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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What a Lot of Rot: Philosophy of Technology Beyond the 'Fantasy of Abundance',
Dominic Smith (Speaker)
6 Apr 2022 → 8 Apr 2022Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Localising Philosophy Presentation
Dominic Smith (Speaker) & Anna Robb (Speaker)
15 Sep 2021Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Society for Philosophy of Technology Conference 2021
Dominic Smith (Speaker)
29 Jun 2021Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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2021 Critical Legal Conference
Dominic Smith (Organiser)
2 Sep 2021 → 4 Sep 2021Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
Press / Media
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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