Guest Lecture by Prof. Stefano Gualeni (University of Malta)
We warmly invite you to join us for a guest lecture by Prof. Stefano Gualeni (University of Malta), titled “On the Conceptual Value of Games“, which will take place on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 15:30 in lecture room A101. In this talk, he will argue that games can disclose and challenge theoretical ideas. Approaching games as epistemic artifacts and conceptual devices, he will examine how they can be designed to produce a range of socio-cultural effects, including rhetorical and transformative ones, and will discuss their capacity to contribute to contemporary culture in ways that can be considered intellectually relevant.
Prof. Stefano Gualeni is a philosopher and game designer whose work explores how videogames can function as tools for philosophical inquiry, enabling players to engage with complex conceptual and existential questions through interactive systems. He is the author of several influential books, including Virtual Existentialism: Meaning and Subjectivity in Virtual Worlds (2020, Palgrave Macmillan), Virtual Worlds as Philosophical Tools: How to Philosophize with a Digital Hammer (2015, Palgrave Macmillan), and Fictional Games: A Philosophy of Worldbuilding and Imaginary Play (2023, Bloomsbury).
The lecture is part of the course “Philosophy of Play”, but all interested participants are very welcome to attend!