ABSTRACT
The article argues for a shift in the perspective that underpins the autonomy of thought in art with regard to philosophy, a shift whereby each art form can claim to be a fully fledged and unique thought-generating field. Art does not think of itself using philosophical concepts that pre-exist it. On the contrary, it is a question of “viewing/thinking practice as closely as possible to its internal needs,” as a process in actuality, and not as an object. Artists are better able than philosophers to determine rules and laws for the arts. The arts have no need of an authoritative external thought, like philosophy, to think of themselves. This essay addresses these issues with respect to the acting profession, arguing for and from the perspective of a theatre-immanent “theatre-thinking” as opposed to a thinking-(of)-theatre imposed upon it from outside.
