The magic of words: what is it supposed to be?

PhD Course 2025/2026

Department of Pedagogy, Psychology and Philosophy – University of Cagliari

Title: The magic of words: what is it supposed to be?
Professors:
Filippo Contesi – Philosophy and theory of languages- University of Cagliari
Simon Evnine – Philosophy at the University of Miami, USA.
(Simon Evnine is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Miami, USA.
Among other areas, he has worked on the ontology of artifacts, epistemology, and the philosophy of Donald Davidson.
His most recent interests include social ontology and the philosophy of literature.)
Hours: 2 hours.
Chronogram: March 17th 2026, from 15:00 to 17:00
Classroom: Aula Motzo
Modality: in presence and online ( LINK ).
Language: English.
Preliminary knowledge required: none
Final evaluation: no
Summary: Many people, at various times, places, and cultures, have believed that language has special magical power. Spells, enchantments, blessing and curses, exorcisms and summonings, have all been thought to rely on certain distinctive uses of language. In this paper, I examine three ways of understanding the alleged magical power of language, as illocutionary, as perlocutionary, and as something analogous to mechanical. I argue that none can work as a general account of the magical uses of language, as seen from the point of view of those who engage in such practices. I conclude with the suggestion that such a power is not just non-existent but conceptually impossible.
Contact: filippo.contesi@unica.it