Introducing Philosophy Through Pop Culture

WILLIAM IRWIN is a Professor of Philosophy at King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He originated the philosophy and pop culture genre of books with Seinfeld and Philosophy in 1999. He is General Editor of the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series and the author of The Meaning of Metallica: Ride the Lyrics.DAVID KYLE JOHNSON is a Professor of Philosophy at King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He is Editor of Inception and Philosophy and Black Mirror and Philosophy, and is Editor-in-Chief of The Palgrave Handbook of Popular Culture as Philosophy.

• Notes on Contributors xiAcknowledgments xviiSources xixIntroduction 1Part I: What is Philosophy? 3Socrates and the Spirit of Philosophy1 Flatulence and Philosophy: A Lot of Hot Air, or the Corruption of Youth? 5William W. Young, iiiLogic and Fallacies2 The Chewbacca Defense: A South Park Logic Lesson 14Robert ArpRelativism and Truth3 Wikiality, Truthiness, and Gut Thinking: Doing Philosophy Colbert Style 23David Kyle JohnsonPart II: Epistemology 35Introduction 35The Ethics of Belief4 You Know, I Learned Something Today: Stan Marsh and the Ethics of Belief 37Henry JacobySkepticism5 Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole: Knowledge, Reality, and the Pit of Skepticism 44Matt LawrenceDefinition of Knowledge6 Adama’s True Lie: Earth and the Problem of Knowledge 54Eric J. Silverman7 Wakandan Resources: The Epistemological Reality of Black Panther’s Fiction 62Ruby KomicPart III: Metaphysics 71Introduction 71The Nature of Reality8 Life on a Holodeck: What Star Trek Can Teach Us About the True Nature of Reality 73Dara Fogel Mind and Body9 Astral Bodies and Cartesian Souls: Mind–Body Dualism in Doctor Strange 82Dean A. Kowalski10 Mind and Body in Zion 90Matt Lawrence Personal Identity11 Amnesia, Personal Identity, and the Many Lives of Wolverine 101Jason Southworth Freedom and Determinism12 The Consolation of Bilbo: Providence and Free Will in Middle-Earth 107Grant Sterling13 Inception and Free Will: Are They Compatible? 115John R. Fitzpatrick and David Kyle Johnson Consciousness and Artificial Intelligence14 Turing’s Dream and Searle’s Nightmare in Westworld 123Lucia Carrillo González15 What is it Like to Be a Host? 128Bradley Richards Time Travel16 The Time Travel in Avengers: Endgame 136David Kyle JohnsonPart IV: Philosophy of Religion 145Introduction 145The Problem of Evil17 South Park, Cartmanland, and the Problem of Evil 147David Kyle Johnson The Existence of God18 Hidden Mickeys and the Hiddenness of God 156Robert K. Garcia and Timothy Pickavance Faith19 The Jedi Knights of Faith: Anakin, Luke, and Søren (Kierkegaard) 164William A. LindenmuthPart V: Ethics 173Introduction 173Utilitarianism and Deontology20 Why Doesn’t Batman Kill the Joker? 175Mark D. White21 Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes 183J. Robert Loftis Virtue Ethics22 Can Eleanor Really Become a Better Person? (The Good Place) 191Eric J. Silverman and Zachary Swanson Friendship23 “You’re a Sucky, Sucky Friend”: Seeking Aristotelian Friendship in The Big Bang Theory 198Dean A. Kowalski Stoicism24 “You Are Asking Me to Be Rational”: Stoic Philosophy and the Jedi Order 207Matt HummelPart VI: Challenges to Traditional Ethics 215Introduction 215Nietzschean Critique25 Rediscovering Nietzsche’s Űbermensch in Superman as a Heroic Ideal 217Arno Bogaerts Existentialist Ethics26 Knowing Who You Are: Existence Precedes Essence in Moana 228William J. DevlinFeminist Critique27 Becoming a (Wonder) Woman: Feminism, Nationalism, and the Ambiguity of Female Identity 236J. Lenore Wright28 The Silence of Our Mother: Eywa as the Voice of Feminine Care Ethics (Avatar) 245George A. Dunn and Nicolas MichaudEnvironmental Ethics29 “Everything Is Backwards Now”: Avatar, Anthropocentrism, and Relational Reason 253Jeremy David Bendik-KeymerPart VII: Social and Political Philosophy 263Introduction 263Social Contract Theory30 Maester Hobbes Goes to King’s Landing (Game of Thrones) 265Greg Littmann31 Lost’s State of Nature 273Richard Davies Marxism32 Federation Trekonomics: Marx, the Federation, and the Shift from Necessity to Freedom 284Jeff Ewing Rawls33 Superman and Justice 292Christopher Robichaud Libertarianism34 Cartman Shrugged: South Park and Libertarian Philosophy 299Paul A. CantorRace35 Ninjas, Kobe Bryant, and Yellow Plastic: The LEGO Minifigure and Race 311Roy T. Cook36 When Tech Meets Tradition: How Wakandan Technology Transcends Anti-Blackness 321Timothy E. Brown Political Manipulation37 Black Mirror and Political Manipulation: How Are We Tricked into Dehumanizing Others? 329Bertha Alvarez ManninenThe #MeToo Movement38 Black Mirror and #DeathTo: What Are the Consequences of Trial by Twitter? 338Aline MayaPart VIII: Eastern Views 349Introduction 34939 The Brick, the Plate, and the Uncarved Block: LEGO as an Expression of the Dao 351Steve Bein40 LEGO, Impermanence, and Buddhism 359David Kahn41 Zen and the Art of Imagineering: Disney’s Escapism Versus Buddhism’s Liberation 367Steve BeinPart IX: The Afterlife and Meaning 375Introduction 375An Afterlife Gives Meaning42 Beyond Godric’s Hollow: Life After Death and the Search for Meaning (Harry Potter) 377Jonathan L. Walls and Jerry L. Walls An Afterlife Wouldn’t Give Meaning43 Why it Wouldn’t be Rational to Believe You’re in The Good Place (and Why You Wouldn’t Want to Be Anyway) 384David Kyle JohnsonIndex 393