Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy

Christopher Robichaud is Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he teaches moral philosophy, political philosophy, and social epistemology. He has contributed to the Wiley Blackwell volumes Batman and Philosophy, Superman and Philosophy, Watchmen and Philosophy, X-Men and Philosophy, Heroes and Philosophy, Spider-Man and Philosophy, Iron Man and Philosophy, Avengers and Philosophy, True Blood and Philosophy, and Game of Thrones and Philosophy.William Irwin (series editor) is Professor of Philosophy at King’s College. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as co-editor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen titles including House and Philosophy, Batman and Philosophy, and South Park and Philosophy.

• Abbreviations Used in the Text viiiIntroduction: A Game Like No Other 1Part I Lawful Good vs. Chaotic Evil 51 Sympathy for the Devils: Free Will and Dungeons & Dragons 7Greg Littmann2 Paragons and Knaves: Does Good Character Make for a Good Character? 23J.K. Miles and Karington Hess3 Is Anyone Actually Chaotic Evil?: A Playable Theory of Willful Wrongdoing 35Neil MussettPart II So Did You Win? Philosophy and D&D Gameplay 614 Save vs. Death: Some Reflections on the Lifecycle of PCs 63Christopher Robichaud5 To My Other Self: Reflection and Existentialism in Dungeons & Dragons 72Rob Crandall and Charles Taliaferro6 Player-Character Is What You Are in the Dark: The Phenomenology of Immersion in Dungeons & Dragons 82William J. WhitePart III Crafting Worlds 937 Imagination and Creation: The Morality of Fiction in Dungeons & Dragons 95Robert A. Delfino and Jerome C. Hillock8 Dungeonmastery as Soulcraft 106Ben DyerPart IV Foray into the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance 1199 Menzoberranzan: A Perfect Unjust State 121Matt Hummel10 Who Is Raistlin Majere? 132Kevin McCainPart V The Ethics of Spellcasting 14511 Expediency and Expendability: An Exhumation of the Morality of Necromancy 147Matthew Jones and Ashley Brown12 By Friendship or Force: Is it Ethical to Summon Animals to Fight by Your Side in Dungeons & Dragons? 163Samantha NollPart VI Dungeons & Dragons out in the Real World 17313 “Kill her, kill her! Oh God, I’m sorry!”: Spectating Dungeons & Dragons 175Esther MacCallum-Stewart14 Berserker in a Skirt: Sex and Gender in Dungeons & Dragons 189Shannon M. Mussett15 “Others play at dice”: Friendship and Dungeons & Dragons 202Jeffery L. NicholasContributors 217Index 223

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