French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Anne-Braun, The World in Projects: A Reading of Nelson Goodman's Theory of Symbols
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
The World in Projects: A Reading of Nelson Goodman's Theory of Symbols
Alexis Anne-Braun
Publication date: 31/05/2018
Publisher: PU Paris-Sorbonne
Series: Philosophies
ISBN: 979-10-231-0584-1
EAN: 9791023105841
No. of pages: 340 p.
What is a realistic image? What is a valid prediction? Why are there good and bad samples of a fabric? These questions are fundamentally driven by the same concern, the same demand for objectivity: when we operate with symbols, if we want to be understood and make our symbols usable, we cannot simply do as we please.
Indeed, there are many correct or incorrect ways of representing the world. Yet, what becomes of this normativity once we assert that the world before us is also the product of our constructions and representations? Since the concept of a ready-made world, against which we would merely measure our language, is useless, how can we do justice to the constraints that reality imposes on our symbolic operations? In this essay, which serves as an introduction to one of the most original and fascinating figures in American philosophy, Alexis Anne-Braun aims to meet this challenge.
He demonstrates how Nelson Goodman's theory of symbols is capable of responding to such a realist demand, even though it has abandoned the notion of a single world. What is at stake, then, is also how we understand the world, for Goodman's philosophy, more than any other, invites us to question the worlds that exist, or more precisely, that we bring into existence through our symbolic operations.
An agrégé in philosophy and alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Lyon, Alexis Anne-Braun defended his doctoral thesis in 2016, supervised by Jocelyn Benoist, entitled "How does it work? A Reading of Nelson Goodman's Theory of Symbols". Also a writer, he published his first narrative work, L'Approximation des choses, with Fayard in 2018.
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Table of Contents
PART ONE
FAILURE
Chapter 1. The Philosophical Function of Error
Chapter 2. Ways of Wrongmaking
Chapter 3. Grue in Progress
PART TWO
THE PROJECTION OF THE WORLD
Chapter 4. Bleen Beyond the Walls
Chapter 5. Felicities: Outline of a Theory of Symbolic Functioning
Chapter 6. An Inductive Metaphysics
Glossary
Bibliography
Index Nominum
This study situates Nelson Goodman within the landscape of twentieth-century American analytic philosophy, particularly his contributions to epistemology, aesthetics, and the philosophy of language. By examining Goodman's famous new riddle of induction—exemplified by the invented predicates grue and bleen—Alexis Anne-Braun clarifies how our conceptual frameworks shape our understanding of reality. The book explores how Goodman's nominalist and pluralist stance, often summarized as irrealism, does not lead to mere arbitrariness. Instead, it investigates the rigorous normativity and constraints that govern our symbolic systems, showing how we construct coherent versions of the world.
The World in Projects is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of analytic philosophy, epistemology, and the philosophy of art. It addresses fundamental questions about the nature of representation, the validity of scientific projection, and the objectivity of aesthetic symbols. By bridging the gap between French philosophical traditions—represented here by the author's doctoral work under Jocelyn Benoist—and American pragmatism, this volume offers a clear, rigorous introduction to Goodman's thought. Readers interested in how language and art actively shape our reality will find this a compelling and deeply informed guide.