Witcher and Philosophy

MATTHEW BRAKE is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Northern Virginia Community College in Manassas, Virginia. He is a contributor to the Wonder Woman and Philosophy and Doctor Strange and Philosophy volumes. He is also the series editor of the Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture series from Fortress Academic and the forthcoming Religion and Comics series from McFarland. KEVIN S. DECKER is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Washington University near Spokane, Washington. He is the editor of Dune and Philosophy and co-editor (with Jason T. Eberl) of Star Wars and Philosophy Strikes Back. He has edited or co-edited eleven other anthologies of popular culture and philosophy. He is the author of Who is Who? The Philosophy of Doctor Who.

• Contributors viiiIntroduction: Toss a Coin to Your Witcher . . . and Your Philosopher xivMatthew BrakeEthics 11 A Friend of Humanity: On Mercenaries, Mutants, and Morals 3Zachary Vereb2 The Witcher’s Dilemmas: Genuine or Apparent? 13Walter Barta and Graham Lee3 Lesser of Two Evils: Deliberation and the Witcher’s Moral Dilemma 22Corey R. Horn4 Friendship in the Wild: Kant, the Witcher, and Curiosity 30Cisil VardarFree Will and Existentialism 375 Destiny, Fate, and the Law of Surprise: Determinism, Free Will, and The Witcher 39Graham Lee Copyrighted Material6 Compatibilism and the Law of Surprise: Myth, Free Will, Destiny, and Hedgehogs 48Shane J. Ralston7 Silver or Steel?: Rethinking Rational Choice in an Irrational World 55Erin Williams and Darian J. Shump8 Nothing Is Ever Black and White: Existentialism in Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt 63Tim MiechelsFeminism 719 “This Is the Version of Myself I Have to Be”: Understanding Yennefer’s Feminism(s) 73Edwardo Pérez10 “They Took My Choice, I Want It Back”: Infertility in The Witcher 84Zoe L. Tongue11 Ciri’s Agency and Autonomy: Princess, Sorceress, and Witcher Girl 92Emily Vega and Walter BartaRace and Culture 10112 Race and Racism in the World of The Witcher 103Gerald Browning13 Disadvantage, Demeaning, and Power: Is Geralt of Rivia Being Discriminated Against? 109Wulf Loh14 “I’m Part Elf, I’m Part Human”: Understanding Racism in The Witcher 117Edwardo PérezMagic 12715 Magic and the Elder Speech in The Witcher 129Andriy Ivanchenko16 Worlds within Words: Names and Naming in The Witcher 137Fiona Tomkinson17 Between Two Camps in the Swamps of Velen: Platonism and Naturalism in the Worlds of The Witcher 146Steven Kammerer18 “Witch Hunts Will Never Be About Witches”: Scapegoating and Stereotypes of Persecution 156Ryan SmockPostmodernism 16519 The Witcher as Postmodern Fairytale 167Emily Vega and Walter Barta20 Shocks of Destiny: The Witcher’s Unlawful Surprise 177Corry Shores21 Post-Apocalyptic Prognostications in The Witcher 184Matthew CrippenPolitical Philosophy 19522 King Foltest, John Locke, and Political Sovereignty in Temeria 197John P. Irish23 Stolen Mutagens and Frustrated Neutrality: Carl Schmitt and “the Political” in The Witcher 205Florian R.R. van der Zee24 Sometimes You Have to Pick Sides: Against Geralt’s Neutrality 214Matthew BrakeMonsters 22325 Origin and Desires as Monster Makers in The Witcher 225Julie Loveland Swanstrom and Victoria Lyle26 The Witcher and the Monstrous Feminine 236Yael Cameron27 The Dialectics of Monstrosity 244Paul GiladiIndex 253