Sons of Anarchy and Philosophy

George A. Dunn is a lecturer at the University of Indianapolis and Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University, China, and a writer on pop culture and philosophy. He is an editor of The Hunger Games and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012) and True Blood and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) and has contributed chapters to many other books in the Blackwell Philosophy & Pop Culture series, including books on Terminator, Iron Man, Battlestar Galactica, and Mad Men.Jason T. Eberl is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He is the editor of Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008) and co-editor (with Kevin S. Decker) of Star Wars and Philosophy (2005) and Star Trek and Philosophy (2008). He has also written essays for similar volumes on Harry Potter, Metallica, Stanley Kubrick, The Hunger Games, Terminator, and Avatar. William Irwin is Professor of Philosophy at King’s College in Pennsylvania. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including Superman and Philosophy, Black Sabbath and Philosophy, and Spider-Man and Philosophy.

• Introduction: “Gotta Look This Life in the Eye” viiiAcknowledgments: Thanks to the Reaper Crew xPart I “An Equal Mix of Might and Right”: Ethics at 92 mph 11 Virtue and Vice in the SAMCROpolis: Aristotle Views Sons of Anarchy 3Jason T. Eberl2 A Prospect’s Guide to Nietzsche 16Tim Jung and Minerva Ahumada3 Tig Needs an Escort Home: Is Loyalty a Virtue? 29James Edwin Mahon4 A Saint among the Sons: Aquinas on Murder and the Men of Mayhem 38Randall M. JensenPart II “Off the Social Grid”: The Politics of Mayhem 515 SAMCRO versus the Leviathan: Laying Down the (Motor)Cycle of Violence 53George A. Dunn6 “The Rat Prince” and The Prince: The Machiavellian Politics of the MC 65Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy7 Chaos and Order: Anarchy in the MC 73Bruno de Brito Serra8 “Another Fun-Filled Day in the Six Counties”: The Real IRA—Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? 85Philip Smolenski9 SAMCRO Goes to War 94Alex LeveringhausPart III “The Concept Was Pure, Simple, True”: Biker Identity and Meaning 10510 My Skin, My Self: SAMCRO’s Ink and Personal Identity 107Charlene Elsby11 The Faith of Our Sons and the Tragic Quest 117Kevin Corn12 Once a Biker Slut, Always a Biker Slut: Narrative Identity in Charming 128Minerva Ahumada and Tim Jung13 SAMCRO and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 139Massimiliano L. CappuccioPart IV “The Passion in His Heart and the Reason in His Mind”: Sex, Love, and Gender 15114 Sometimes a Motorcycle Is Just a Motorcycle: Freud and Hamlet Come to Charming 153Andrea Zanin15 When a Charming Woman Speaks 165Leslie A. Aarons16 Mothers of Anarchy: Power, Control, and Care in the Feminine Sphere 175Leigh C. KolbPart V “Each Savage Event Was a Catalyst for the Next”: The Historic and the Homeric 18717 Sons of History: How SAMCRO Lost and Found Its Way 189Peter S. Fosl18 Anarchism and Authenticity, or Why SAMCRO Shouldn’t Fight History 201Peter S. Fosl19 Good Old Fashioned Mayhem 214Greg Littmann20 The Road Out of Mayhem 225Greg LittmannContributors: Philosophers of Mayhem 237List of Episodes: The Life (and Death?) of Sam Crow 243Index 246