The Simpsons and Philosophy

Download or read book The Simpsons and Philosophy written by William Irwin and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-08 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Simpsons is one of the most literary and intelligent comedies on television today - fertile ground for questions such as: Does Nietzsche justify Bart's bad behavior? Is hypocrisy always unethical? What is Lisa's conception of the Good? From the editor of and contributors to the widely-praised Seinfeld and Philosophy, The Simpsons and Philosophy is an insightful and humorous look at the philosophical tenets of America's favorite animated family that will delight Simpsons fans and philosophy aficionados alike. Twenty-one philosophers and academics discuss and debate the absurd, hyper-ironic, strangely familiar world that is Springfield, the town without a state. n exploring the thought of key philosophers including Aristotle, Marx, Camus, Sartre, Heidegger, and Kant through episode plots and the characters' antics, the contributors tackle issues like irony and the meaning of life, American anti-intellectualism, and existential rebellion. The volume also includes an episode guide and a chronology of philosophers which lists the names and dates of the major thinkers in the history of philosophy, accompanied by a representative quote from each. Contributors: David L.G. Arnold, Daniel Barwick, Eric Bronson, Paul A. Cantor, Mark T. Conard, Gerald J. Erion, Raja Halwani, Jason Holt, William Irwin, Kelley Dean Jolley, Deborah Knight, James Lawler, J.R. Lombardo, Carl Matheson, Jennifer L. McMahon, Aeon J. Skoble, Dale E. and James J. Snow, David Vessey, James J. Wallace, and Joseph A. Zeccardi ''Each essay provides a hilarious but incisive springboard to some aspect of philosophy. ''