CALL FOR PAPERS

Book Symposium

Abstract: This book connects recent developments in speculative realism, new materialism, and eco-phenomenology to articulate an approach to wonder that escapes the connected traps of anthropocentrism and correlationism. Brian Onishi argues that wonder has explanatory power for the constitution of the world and the organization of meaning. To do this, he appeals to both fiction (speculative and Weird fiction in particular) and quantum physics. More specifically, he argues that the focus of Weird fiction on impossible experiences and a feeling of something just beyond the limits of one’s grasp dramatizes the speculative reach beyond the limits of our understanding. But more than a tool for knowledge acquisition, wonder is an organizing property of objects. Like the collapse of superposition in quantum physics, reality is constituted when objects reveal themselves to other objects and thereby organize themselves into complex objects. Since no relation is exhaustive, the capacity to wonder remains at a material level, and the possibility of reorganization is ever present. Ultimately, Onishi argues for a speculative eco-phenomenology with wonder as an engine for a Weird environmental ethics.

Author Bio: Dr. Brian Hisao Onishi is an associate professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies at Penn State Altoona. His research focuses on the intersection between environmental philosophy and continental thought, with particular emphasis on wonder and Weird fiction. He has published articles in Environmental Philosophy, The Heythrop Journal, and SATS Northern European Journal of Philosophy.

The Society for Philosophy of Emotion and the Journal of Philosophy of Emotion (JPE) are organizing a book symposium on Dr. Brian Onishi's latest book, Weird Wonder in Merleau-Ponty, Object-Oriented Ontology, and New Materialism. A free copy of his book, made possible by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries, can be found on the Springer website. We are looking for commentators for the SPE's 2026 Eastern APA affiliated group session, and for a subsequent publication in the Journal of Philosophy of Emotion, including a JPE podcast edition. (No additional work beyond seeing your commentary through to publication with the JPE will be required for the podcast edition.) If you are interested in engaging in a critical discussion of Dr. Onishi's book, with the aim of moving the discourse on relevant topics highlighted by his book forward, please complete the APA Affiliated Group Session and JPE Book Symposium Interest Form. Because the JPE requires the use of Google workspace tools, you will be required to log-in with a Google account to access the form. If you do not use your Gmail account on a regular basis, we recommend you set your Gmail to forward your emails to the email that you regularly use so you do not miss any correspondence from us. We are hoping to publish this book symposium in the JPE’s Winter (January) 2027 issue. If you are interested in participating as a commentator, please complete the form, which includes uploading a copy of your CV, by June 30, 2025. We will contact you by July 11, 2025, with a decision regarding your expressed interest and any further details. 

Society for Philosophy of Emotion

Accepted commentators will be invited to present their commentaries during an in-person book symposium, as a part of a Society for Philosophy of Emotion (SPE)-American Philosophical Association (APA) affiliated group session at the 2026 Eastern APA, which is expected to take place in Baltimore, MD. Commentaries for this book symposium are due to the author six (6) weeks before the SPE-APA session date, and author replies are due (3) weeks before the session date, in accordance with the APA meeting participation guidelines and prior to the due date for the JPE book symposium. 

Please note that commentators who agree to participate in this in-person book symposium will not be eligible for any funding assistance from the APA since only those who are presenting in an APA main program event are eligible for such funding. However, participants can also submit a paper for or agree to comment for an APA main program event and apply for APA funding if they are accepted, since APA main program participants are allowed to also participate in affiliated group sessions without any restrictions. Organizers will also be informed to avoid any scheduling conflicts. Participants would also be required to register for the 2026 Eastern APA conference, and be a member of the SPE at the time of their participation, which includes a one-time JPE submission fee waiver. An annual SPE membership is $35, with a discounted rate of $10 for graduate students and underemployed scholars. An SPE meal will also be organized as a part of the session events, contingent on participant interest, and all participants will be responsible for their own check. 

Journal of Philosophy of Emotion

Commentaries for the JPE will be due one month after the Society for Philosophy of Emotion (SPE)-American Philosophical Association (APA) affiliated group session for this book symposium (read below). We encourage a diversity of scholars of all ranks who are interested in participating as a commentator to respond to this CFP, provided that they are willing and able to commit to fulfilling the expectations set by the JPE's submission guidelines and the JPE’s double-anonymous peer review process. Please refer to past issues of the JPE for examples, and all submissions must adhere to the JPE’s style guideline (which includes a Google Doc manuscript template), and note that authors are responsible for providing all necessary DOIs and appropriately formatting their references. All contributors are also responsible for copyediting their own submissions and providing any requested citation information, although the JPE will also conduct a preliminary review and copyedit check of all submissions prior to sending them to peer review. No submission will be sent to peer review without the appropriate formatting, in accordance with the JPE style guidelines. The JPE also requires a submission fee of $35 or you can use your SPE one-time JPE submission fee waiver. 

Selection Criteria, Guest Editing, and Peer Refereeing

Commentators will be selected not only based on their qualifications, but also based on their cooperative compliance and the consideration for the value of diversity and inclusiveness among equally qualified commentators. Potential contributors are also welcome to let us know in their letter of interest in guest editing or refereeing this book symposium if for some reason they were not invited to contribute a commentary, but would still like to contribute to the book symposium, or if they would rather guest edit or referee the book symposium. Guest editors would be invited to contribute an editorial introduction, including highlighting the significance of the discussions in the book symposium to the relevant scholarly discourses. Information on guest editor responsibilities can be found on the JPE's Join the Team page. All referees may also choose to be publicly acknowledged in a subsequent winter issue of the JPE.

SPE Membership Fee/JPE Manuscript Submission Fee

The JPE is an independently published, open-access journal, operating as a Public Charity under the US Treasury, 501(3)(c), 509(a)(2), and the SPE is an affiliate organization operating under the JPE's business license. All manuscript submission fees and membership fees go toward paying for operating costs and providing need based subventions to facilitate diverse and inclusive participation. Our completely transparent Financial Report is also made available for your review.