Philosophy of Fame and Celebrity

Alfred Archeris an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. He has previously worked as a DAAD Funded Visiting Chair (Full Professor) at Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (2019) and a Teaching Fellow at Bristol University (2015). Matthew J. Dennis is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Philosophy and Ethics Capacity Group at Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands.Catherine M. Robb is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. Her novel account of the nature of talent has been published in Synthese (2021), and has given rise to a number of public talks on applying the philosophy of talent development to everyday life.

• List of contributorsForeword, Eric Stonestreet Acknowledgements Introduction Part I: The Nature of Fame1. Fame and Flourishing, Michael S. Brady (University of Glasgow, UK)2. ‘Fame goes to one’s head’: The Lures of Fame and the Moral Perils of Addiction, Pride and Vanity Kamila Pacovská (University of Pardubice, Czech Republic)3. Celebrity and Dishonesty: Do They Go Hand in Hand?, Christian B. Miller (Wake Forest University, USA)Part II: The Pursuit of Fame and Celebrity4. Fame, Narrative and the (Im)permanence of Memory, Leslie A. Howe (University of Saskatchewan, Canada)5. Marginalization, Celebrity and the Pursuit of Fame, Alfred Archer (Tilburg University, Netherlands) and Catherine M. Robb (Tilburg University, Netherlands)6. Ideal Bodies, Images and ‘Instafame’, Heather Widdows (University of Warwick, UK) and Fiona MacCallum (University of Warwick, UK)Part III: Fame and Influence7. The Power of Fame: Celebrities and Influencers as Moral Exemplars, Michel Croce (University of Genoa, Italy), Matilde Liberti (University of Genoa, Italy, and Maria Silvia Vaccarezza (University of Genoa, Italy8. Online Celebrities as Moral Role Models: Considerations for Character Educators, Yousra Osman (Middlesex University Dubai, UAE) and Tom Harrison (University of Birmingham, UK)9. Celebrity and Epistemic Influence: Evidence Resistance and Epistemic Recklessness, Rebecca Wallbank (University of Geneva, Switzerland)Part IV: Celebrity–fan Relationships10. Celebrity Intimacy and Parasocial Relationships: The Aesthetic Trust Underlying Fandom, Mary Beth Willard (Weber State University, USA)11. The Inappropriateness of Fans’ Blame, Carme Isern-Mas (University of the Balearic Islands, Spain)12. Cancelling Celebrities, Linda Radzik (Philosophy at Texas A&M University, USA)Afterword: Kaepernick’s Protest, and the Loss of Fame, Michael DeVito Index

This is the first in-depth exploration into the philosophy of fame and celebrity. It sets the agenda for future work in this new and exciting area of investigation. Each contribution provides insight into fame and celebrity and will form the basis of future work in this area.