Philosophy and the museum: an introduction to the special issue

This paper introduces the special issue by explaining the context of the conference at which the papers were originally presented, suggesting some ways of thinking about the intersection of philosophy and museums, and briefly introducing each paper in the collection. In the main body of the paper I look at a recent trend in museum interpretation and argue that it can be understood in terms of a definition of the museum as a space of representation and space of difference. I go on to suggest that this definition allows us to think of the museum as liberating us from certain ways of thinking. The paper as a whole suggests that philosophy can help us to think about museums, and that museums can contribute to philosophical thinking.