Dean Kowalski’s Joss Whedon as Philosopher confirms what we have long suspected, that there is a great deal of philosophical gold to be mined from the Whedonverse. Kowalski expertly guides the reader through the many philosophical insights and provocations that can be found in Whedon’s works, from Buffy, Angel and Firefly, to the Avengers films, Cabin in the Woods and Dollhouse. He shows how Whedon’s creations have much to tell us about authenticity and the good life, rights and personhood, ethics and religion, free will and determinism, and more besides. In the second part, the book offers some meditations of its own on the very idea of film (and television) as philosophy – all the better to confirm that Whedon can readily be numbered among those who, in the act of filmmaking, actually do philosophy.
