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Edited by Lindsay Brainard, Ryan W. Davis, and Jessica Flanigan

  • Offers the first book-length philosophical analysis focused exclusively on Taylor Swift's songwriting
  • Demonstrates innovative methodologies for treating popular music as a site of rigorous philosophical inquiry
  • Features essays by a diverse group of leading philosophers across multiple subfields
  • Reveals new interpretive insights for both scholars and Swifties, deepening understanding of themes such as love, morality, and meaning
Taylor Swift is a mastermind. Everything she writes is intentional, including the literary references and proper names in her lyrics, and the Easter eggs for fans in her liner notes. Every album has a cohesive moral and aesthetic vision. Every Swiftie knows that Swift’s lyrics repay close reading, decoding, tracking down references, and a bit of detective work. They gather online and try to discern the line between irony and sincerity. Swifties seek out esoteric meanings and intertextual connections. They stay up late and Taylor-gate, talking about the meaning of their favorite songs, and eventually, talking about the meaning of life. Taylor taught her fans to read like philosophers; or maybe, she reveals that they were philosophers all along.

The Philosophy of Taylor Swift is a collection of 22 chapters that use philosophical analysis to better understand Swifts’ songwriting. For philosophers, this volume is a methodologically innovative collection of chapters that brings together scholars from all parts of the discipline—ethics, political philosophy, the philosophy of religion, epistemology, and the philosophy of science. The chapters explore the philosophical ideas and aesthetic choices that shape Swift’s catalogue, putting her work in conversation with both historical and contemporary philosophical texts. For Swifties, this volume will inspire at least three hundred conversations over takeout coffees and a lifetime of dreaming instead of sleeping.

ISBN

9780197812457

Publication Date

8-18-2026

Publisher

Oxford Academic

City

Oxford

DOI

10.1093/9780197812495.001.0001

Keywords

Taylor Swift, philosophy, Interpretation, popular music, lyricism, ethics, aesthetics

School

Jepson School of Leadership Studies

Department

Leadership Studies

Disciplines

Composition | Music | Other Music | Other Philosophy | Philosophy

Comments

Copyright © Oxford University Press 2026

[Introduction to] The Philosophy of Taylor Swift

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