Morality and the Movies

Dan Shaw is Professor of Philosophy and Film at Lock Haven University, USA. He is the managing editor of the journal Film and Philosophy, co editor (with Steven Schneider) of Dark Thoughts: Philosophic Reflections on Horror Films (Scarecrow Press, 2003) and author of Film and Philosophy: Taking Movies Seriously (Wallflower Press, 2008).

• Introduction: Studying Philosophy Through Film; 1. Submission to God's Will in A Man for All Seasons; 2. Egoism and Utilitarianism in Casablanca; 3. Legal Conventionalism in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence; 4. Kant's Man of Good Will and Hotel Rwanda; 5. Moral Relativism, Perspectivism and Citizen Kane; 6. Virtue Ethics and Ghost Dog; 7. Freedom and Determinism in A Clockwork Orange; 8. Sexual Morality and Kinsey; 9. Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia and The Sea Inside; 10. Capital Punishment and Compassion in Dead Man Walking; 11. The morality and meaning of war in Full Metal Jacket; 12. Autonomy and Abortion Rights in The Cider House Rules; 13. Gun Control and Bowling for Columbine; 14. Terrorism and Counterterrorism in Munich; 15. Business Ethics and Wall Street; 16. Affirmative Action, Diversity and Remember the Titans; Conclusion: How Films can Elucidate Philosophies, and Vice Versa; Further Reading; Index.

Shaw makes morality go down as easily as a bag of popcorn. No more will philosophy be dull. I can only wish that I had had a text like Morality and the Movies when I was a student just encountering ethics. This book is certain to engage students, as they discover they were already thinking about morality when they were watching movies.