**Links to**: [[Score]], [[Script]], [[Reading methodologies]], [[Critical Mass Commitment]], [[Name-dropping]], [[Reference]], [[Self-reference]]. # 🅃🄷🄴 # 🅂🄲🄾🅁🄴 # 🄸🅂 🅃🄷🄴 🄾🄽🄻🅈 # 🅁 🄴 🄵 🄴 🅁 🄴 🄽 🄲 🄴 What happens when we try to avoid references, allusions, etc. and focus instead on the _scoring_ (modulating, scarring, programming) effects of the concreteness of words in live action social practice? This event was intended to be a one-off at Rib, and will take place as a three-day workshop at PAF Summer University 2024. It was originally developed as a class for 3rd year students at the WdKA HP, by S. de Jager. The idea behind it was to _contain_ referencing and stay focused on the specificity of the objects/subjects at hand as they unfolded in the group dynamics created, throughout a three-month period. One of the intentions behind this class was to counter the permanent “this reminds me of...”/“you should read/look up...” which takes place in art school feedback contexts. Another intention was that it was meant as a methodology to travel through dense conceptual spaces by explaining things in detail rather than speeding through their referential contexts (which sometimes obscure, rather than clarify, things). After discussing this idea with Ties van Gemert, we decided to run the event together, as a one-off, which the OZSW kindly decided to support. We approached Maziar Afrassiabi as we wanted to run the event at Rib, given that it might appeal to both art and philosophy audiences. Maziar also decided to kindly support, and we publicized the announcement. Link to event site: www.ribrib.nl/event _Description_: On 30 December, Rib will host, together with the Dutch Research School of Philosophy (OZSW), a performative philosophy event called _The Score is the Only Reference_. The intention is to explore the possibility of discussing philosophical musings in a collectively intentional encounter, without explicit reference to tradition or appeal to entrenched intuitions. Come prepared to leave your books and articles at the door: there will be no name-dropping, no footnoting, no special featuring nor assumptions about shared knowledge. It might be doomed to fail, but we will have fun. In order to try to speak otherwise about philosophy, we will set up a variety of methodological constraints. The starting point will be the idea of the _score_—as explored, for instance, by the art movement Fluxus. The opening line of the score is “no referencing”: we will start a discussion by thinking about what this means, and whether this is possible or simply ridiculous. The rest of the score will follow, as we will decide upon it together, based on our discussions, utilizing examples that will be presented on the day of the event. The score will thus guide us: we will start from uncommon knowledge, and then proceed step by step, gesture to gesture, to a collective experience of thought. To make the evening hospitable, we will provide you with dinner and drinks. To sign up for this event, please send an email to: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) & [[email protected]](mailto:%[email protected]) _________ ### Event summary notes and afterthoughts - We arrived at Rib at 17:00, the organizers were there a bit earlier, as we had to get drinks, set up the space, etc. - Even though some of us knew each other in advance, we tried to alleviate this asymmetry in the group by starting off the event without anybody letting anybody else know where they came from, what they did, etc. We exchanged names only, at first. We were 15 participants. - At the start of the event, a participant who was unable to join, asked if the event would be recorded, so we all agreed to record it. - We sat in a circle, on chairs. There was candle light. Somebody mentioned the atmosphere was “séance-like”. - Sonia started off by mentioning that we could all make and break the rules of this game, and introduced the first rule: when you don’t think you fully understand something, please ask for detailed clarification. And: make new rules as you see fit. - We had an event program: a sheet of paper which read “THE SCORE”. Even though it was meant in all seriousness, the group seem to interpret it as a joke at first. However: in the end, the word “score” became the most hotly debated concept (together with “reference”), which you could say made sense in light of the program. - It was difficult to define what a reference (or a score) exactly is, or what it should be in our newly constrained[^1] context. Sometimes we struggled with the fact that personal, professional and/or general sociocultural references conceptually dominated what we meant by the term. However, in light of this, the question also emerged: if all words are guilty of this endless indebtedness and ramification, shouldn’t we define what we mean? Unable to start from zero, we went in circles sometimes. - We seemed to struggle with ‘famous’ questions around things like induction, communication, representation, perception, what makes “art” _art_, what an observer or a perspective is, etc. However, we rarely referred to these questions in these terms, which kept the relegation and ramification of references at bay. - Even though we intended to continually establish rules, more often than not, we ended up dialoguing along without adhering to the rule-following or rule-making. Maybe, in a sense, we actually succeeded in constantly breaking the rules. - We had dinner at 19:00, when the food we ordered from Deli Bird arrived, which we all seemed to enjoy. - After dinner, part of the group left, and part of the group remained for continuing the discussion. - It was an evening full of awkwardness, laughter and intensity. [^1]: “Constraint” is not employed in a negative sense here: a constraint (a limitation, border, end, etc.), such as a score, is capable of allowing for action, thus enabling engagement and awareness of a given situation. The summary above was written by S. de Jager on January 2nd 2023, and is currently being revised and edited by the participants, whose names and contributions will be published, should they wish to appear here.