Glossary of terms and concepts
Given that some of the words and phrases in this book are employed in quite specific ways, for added clarity, I want to provide a glossary of the terms and concept as they will be used and understood in this book:
Abstract Object – An “abstract object” is immaterial; it may, or may not, exist.
Concrete Object – A “concrete object,” and also a “concrete action,” has a material reality.
Experiences
Individual (experience) – An “individual experience” is one’s own experience of an action/object.
Private (experience) – A “private experience” is a singular-and-unique experience an individual has to an action/object.
Public (experience) – A “public experience” is when two or more people experience the same action/object.
Shared (experience) – A “shared experience” is when two or more individuals have the same individual experience when experiencing the same action/object.
Parallax – When viewing (broadly defined) a concrete object or action (broadly defined), “parallax” is the (inherent) resultant error that is due to one’s perspective (broadly defined).
Performance – “Performance” refers to the entirety of an artistic idea and its material enactment(s). “Performance,” then, subsumes “theatre” as a broader term. That is, traditionally, “theatre” refers to the combination of a dramatic text and the performance of a dramatic text; “performance” is broader in that it still holds the category of “theatre” within, but also works for the category of non-text-based performance. Further, using this idea that performance refers to the entirety of an artistic idea and its material enactment(s), performance casts a broader net, here subsuming other art forms like film and television (as well as more traditional “performing arts” like dance, opera, music, etc.).
Performance Event – A “performance event” is a specific-and-singular enactment of a performance. “Performance events” are specific instances of a performance, often localized and restricted to a specific time and space/place.
Performance Text – A “performance text” refers to a written text that sets the rules and/or guidelines for a performance event. NOTE: Not all “performances” have a “performance text.”
Proposition – A semi-technical term that has broad and different usage in philosophy, here, I will be using it to refer to the thought content of a statement that can be true or false.
Propositional Attitude – A “propositional attitude” is the attitude, feeling, or belief one has towards a proposition.
Qualia (or, Quale, singular) – A quale is an individual instance of experience.
Superimpose – To “superimpose” is to layer and overlap beliefs, justified beliefs, justified true beliefs, and knowledge from numerous individual perspectives in order to create a more-accurate objective understanding of a concrete object or action (broadly defined). “Superimposition” lessens the parallax (i.e., the error caused by observing/experiencing an object from a unique perspective).
Triangulate – In the most literal sense, “triangulating” describes the process of the superimposition of beliefs, justified beliefs, and knowledge about an object in situations where three minds are all experiencing the same object. More broadly, “triangulation” simply means superimposing the experiences of more than two minds.
Viewer(s) – A “viewer” is an individual who attends (or attended) a performance event. “Viewers” refers to a group of individuals (i.e., viewer1 + viewer2 + viewer3, etc.), all of whom attend a particular performance event. The focus here is not on viewing, specifically, as a visual process, but as the mental contemplation (of an object).