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 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 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 submit your polished commentary for our initial vetting process by May 31, 2026. Manuscript submission instructions can be found on the JPE website. 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. 

If you are interested in guest editing the book symposium, please send an email of interest, along with your CV, to submissions.jpe@gmail.com. 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. 

We encourage a diversity of scholars of all ranks who are interested in participating as a commentator or guest editor 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. 

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 ($35) and membership fees ($35) 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.