The Philosophy of Tattoos

The Philosophy of...

by John Miller

Tattooing is an ancient practice with profound religious and cultural significance. While western tattooing centers on three main traditions – Polynesian, Japanese and Euro-American – it has been recorded more or less everywhere. Beginning with the birth of the tattoo, John Miller explores this unique expression of personal, cultural and national identity, the tension between tattoo’s status as a fashion item and its roots in subculture, and the relevance of magic – a crucial part of tattooing’s origins – in contemporary society. As the inherent shock factor of tattoos decreases, tattoos are becoming more extensive, public and challenging in response, prompting an upsurge in avant-garde tattoo projects and ‘extreme’ tattooing. The Philosophy of Tattoos investigates the innate human desire to mark the skin, and what tattooing might tell us about that obsessively asked question: what does it mean to be human?

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, History

112 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2021

About the author

John Miller is Senior Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century Literature at the University of Sheffield.

Reviews

[Andrew Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Pretty light on philosophy, but there are a lot of nice pictures.

[Brian Finn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting account of tattoos from indigenous origins to colonial rule to contemporary issues. Would not consider it very philosophical though... Good read nonetheless

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly entertaining (esp if you have tattoos, probably not if you are against them), and informative. Well written though sometimes felt like there was overuse of a thesaurus. A quick and good read. Not giving more stars because it wasn’t very thought provoking for me and wasn’t as good relatively as a lot of the books I’ve been reading lately.

[Jessica Keir · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting short read! brief history of tattoos & invites conversations about modern tattoos with colonialism, spirituality, cultural significance & more!

[Shae Weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Critiques colonialism and neoliberalism through the lens of tattooing. The only problem is that it's written by a coloniser..? He did what seems like a good job of highlighting other cultures and their tattoo histories, but it always comes back to the western perception. Has a lot of great ideas and starting points for further exploration. All in all, a great introduction to tattoo culture.

[Edward Vanhoutte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short introduction to tattoo culture and philosophy offers some good insights but is clearly written by a literary scholar who doesn't eschew postmodern vocabulary. Worth reading a second and a third time.

[Santiago Orellana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably the most nauseating book I've ever read. Thought I was going to get an interesting book about tattoos and instead got 90 pages about colonialism. Any mention of the meaning of tattoos was brief and meandering. As soon as the author admitted very honestly that he got his first tattoo for the purposes of having sex with women, I should've stopped. The guy struck me as so pathetic that I frequently felt a strange mix of pity and second-hand embarassment. The most interesting thing about this book was that it helps to reveal just how much one's character can influence one's political philosophy. I felt that the connection here between a sense of internalized inferiority and radical leftism was obvious and indisputable. The author is a humanities lecturer so its all postmodern nonsense. Injects his politics at every corner. Sometimes it is relevant, but very often it is most certainly not. Colonialism is fine to talk about, just make sure your title reflects that. The title should have in fact been called "the history of tattoos and colonialism". No meaningful philosophy occurred at all. In fact there was no structure at all or thesis to be grasped. Most points were rendered meaningless or taken back within a few sentences, and the points were frankly idiotic to begin with. Learned more about the psychological perturbances of the author than I did about tattoos or colonialism. Shame on this man who isnt even a philosophy professor for disgracing the good name of philosophy. This is the reason very few people take the subject seriously anymore. Literature profs masquerading as philosophers are always cringeworthy.

[Manders · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, interesting read on the history of tattooing and how the perception of it has changed over centuries and among cultures. Quite enjoyed it, but the author needs his thesaurus taken away from him; some of the words used were out of place in his dialog, and it seemed he was trying to hard to come across as an academic.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

REALLY interesting stuff. Well written, very cool subject and very interesting take on the global aspects of tattooing and what it might mean to decolonize tattooing and how to start that conversation. If you're into tattoos, I recommend this. It's short and well written.

[Peter Lipták · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zopár stručných úvah o histórii a význame tetovania

[Minter Dial · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read, especially for the uninitiated (like me!)

[Sarah Faber · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little short and a little smug but def interesting yknow made me think

[Ajax · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A gift-book-sized account of tattoo history, with musings on colonialism, spirituality, and more. Far too brief to be rewarding or particularly insightful.

[Monia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Z tatuażowych pozycji książkowych to jedna z ciekawiej napisanych napewno. Ocena pozytywna!!!!!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provided more sparse information than the rest of the books in this series. However, the further reading section was more comprehensive.

[Colton Hornstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, significantly more knowledgeable and advanced vocabulary than I expected out of a thin pink book. Sadly too short, especially on the final chapter, and left me wanting more.

[Olwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

made me feel all embodied and glowy from my tattoos :)