Is death something to be feared… or “mastered”?

What can Severus Snape teach us about the possibility of redemption?

Is love the most powerful magic of all?

J. K. Rowling’s wildly popular Harry Potter books may appear to be simple children’s tales on the surface, but like Hogwarts, they conceal many hidden chambers, trapdoors, and perplexing secrets. Drawing on all seven books in the Harry Potter series, The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy offers a powerful brew of insights about good and evil, love, death, power, sacrifice, and hope. Is it true, as Dumbledore says, that our choices reveal far more about us than our abilities do? Is there an afterlife, and what might it be like? Here’s a Pensieve for your thoughts. So take a healthy slug of Baruffio’s Brain Elixir and join Bassham’s Army of talented philosophers in exploring the mind-stretching deeper questions of the Potter books and films.

Expanded and up-to-date — the ultimate guide that explores meaning and philosophy of all six seasons of Lost

Lost is more than just a popular television show; it’s a complex examination of meaningful philosophical questions. What does good versus evil mean on the island? Is it a coincidence that characters John Locke and Desmond David Hume are named after actual philosophers? What is the ethics of responsibility for Jack?

An action-adventure story with more than a touch of the metaphysical, Lost forces viewers to ask difficult questions of themselves just as the story asks difficult questions of its characters. Ultimate Lost and Philosophy helps you explore the deeper meaning and philosophical questions hidden within every complex twist and turn in the historic show’s entire six-season run.

• Includes every season of Lost, including 2010’s final, highly anticipated season
• Connects events on the show to core philosophical issues such as truth, identity, and morality
• Explores a host of intriguing topics such as time travel, freedom, love, and loss

For fans of Lost who are interested in what the show reveals about ourselves and the human condition, Ultimate Lost and Philosophy is an entertaining, informative, and enlightening resource. ]]> http://andphilosophy.com/ultimate-lost-and-philosophy/feed/ 0 http://andphilosophy.com/true-blood-and-philosophy/ http://andphilosophy.com/true-blood-and-philosophy/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:29:19 +0000 Ellen http://andphilosophy.com/?p=577 Does God hate fangs?

Is Sam still Sam when he turns into a collie?

Is coming out of the coffin the same as coming out of the closet?

Are all vampires created evil?

Vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, fairies, telepaths—True Blood has it all. In a world where supernatural creatures coexist with human beings, Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton wrestle with powerful desires while facing complex issues concerning sex, romance, bigotry, violence, death, and immortality. Now, True Blood and Philosophy calls on the minds of some of history’s great thinkers to perform some philosophical bloodletting on this thought-provoking series. From the metaphysics of mind reading to Maryann Forrester’s cult of Dionysus, from vampire politics to the nature of personal identity, and from contemporary feminism to the rights of nonhuman species, True Blood and Philosophy mines the thinking of philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, and John Rawls to enlighten us on the intriguing themes that surround this supernatural world. You’ll find no shortage of juicy metaphysical morsels to sink your teeth into!

Is immoral behavior no laughing matter?

Can Devon Banks choose his sexual orientation?

Is that a dealbreaker?

Hello, dummy. Wait! Don’t stop reading. This is really important. I’m dying. Okay, that was a lie. It’s about this TV show I love. I recently discovered that I’m a 30 Rock addict. From Jack Donaghy’s management advice to the things Liz Lemon has to do just to get a show on the air every week, 30 Rock raises all kinds of ethical dilemmas and philosophical issues. Okay, it’s not like reading Wittgenstein, but it makes you wise. Like a genetically manipulated shark. Every essay in 30 Rock and Philosophy takes some of my favorite scenes from the show and uses them to explain important philosophical issues. Even the most esoteric ideas become understandable when Kenneth is involved. So if you watch the show for Tracy’s antics, Dr. Spaceman’s medical advice, or just to look at Tina Fey, read this book and you’ll walk away knowing about the Frankfurt School, Aristotle, and Jack Donaghy’s sordid love life. Now that we have that out of the way, I have an idea for a business that could make us both millionaires. One word: floppy disks.

What do Peggy, Betty, and Joan teach us about gender equality?

What are the ethics of advertising—or is that a contradiction in terms?

Is Roger Sterling an existential hero?

We’re better people than we were in the sixties, right?

With its swirling cigarette smoke, martini lunches, skinny ties, and tight pencil skirts, Mad Men is unquestionably one of the most stylish, sexy, and irresistible shows on television. But the series becomes even more absorbing once you dig deeper into its portrayal of the changing social and political mores of 1960s America and explore the philosophical complexities of its key characters and themes. From Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to John Kenneth Galbraith, Milton Friedman, and Ayn Rand, Mad Men and Philosophy brings the thinking of some of history’s most powerful minds to bear on the world of Don Draper and the Sterling Cooper ad agency. You’ll gain insights into a host of compelling Mad Men questions and issues, including happiness, freedom, authenticity, feminism, Don Draper’s identity, and more—and have lots to talk about the next time you find yourself around the watercooler.

Is mind-reading an invasion of privacy?

What’s wrong with genetic experimentation?

How many identities can one person have?

Are the X-Men advocates of civil rights and social change?

X-Men is one of the most popular comic-book franchises ever, captivating millions with its teeming X-Verse of genetic mutants who have been unleashing their unique special powers in the service of both good and evil since 1963. Focusing on identity and personal conflict as much as action and adventure, this bestselling series is full of complex characters and storylines that are deeply influenced by important philosophical questions. Through philosophical greats like Aristotle, Sartre, Camus, Levinas, and others, X-Men and Philosophy shows how this remarkable series speaks not only to generations of pop culture audiences, but to the very heart of the human condition.

Can we justify Ozymandias’s grand plan?

Is the Comedian actually a comedian (or just a jerk)?

Can either Silk Spectre be considered a feminist?

Does Nite Owl’s paunch actually make him virtuous?

Watchmen is the most critically acclaimed graphic novel ever published and turned the world of comic superheroes on its head. This masterpiece of realistic storytelling, dialogue, and artwork, courtesy of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, raises a host of compelling philosophical questions. How do Ozymandias and Rorschach justify their actions? What are the political ramifications of the Comedian’s work for the government? How do we explain the nature of Dr. Manhattan? And can a graphic novel be considered literature? Whether you’re reading Watchmen for the first time or have been a fan for more than twenty years, Watchmen and Philosophy will help you read deeper into the philosophical questions and the revolutionary story that changed comic fiction forever.

Was it morally right for Skynet to nuke us?

Is John Connor free to choose to defend humanity, or not?

Is Judgment Day inevitable?

The Terminator series is one of the most popular sci-fi franchises ever created, captivating millions with its edgy depiction of the struggle of humankind for survival against its own creations. This book draws on some of history’s philosophical heavy hitters: Descartes, Kant, Karl Marx, and many more. Nineteen leather-clad chapters target with extreme prejudice the mysteries surrounding intriguing philosophical issues raised by the Terminator series, including the morality of terminating other people for the sake of peace, whether we can really use time travel to protect our future resistance leaders in the past, and if Arnold’s famous T-101 is a real person or not. You’ll say “Hasta la vista, baby” to philosophical confusion as you develop a new appreciation for the complexities of John and Sarah Connor and the battles between Skynet and the human race.

Is Michael Scott in denial about death?

Is David Brent an essentialist?

What Dwight doesn’t know can’t hurt him—or can it?

Just when you thought paper couldn’t be more exciting, this book comes your way, uniting philosophy with one of the best shows ever: The Office. Addressing both the current American incarnation and the original British version, The Office and Philosophy brings these two wonders of civilization together for a frolic through the mundane yet curiously edifying worlds of Scranton’s Dunder-Mifflin and Slough’s Wernham-Hogg. Surprisingly, The Office can teach us about the mind, Aristotle, and humiliation.  Even more surprisingly, fictional companies can allow us to better understand business ethics.  Don’t believe it?  Open this book, and behold its beautiful paper…

Are we all in the “Sanitarium”?

How can we “Escape” to be free?

What can Nietzsche tell us about the “God That Failed”?

What can Descartes and “One” tell us about the relationship between the mind and the body?

Metallica is the “thinking man’s” metal band and the headbanger’s CNN.  Snobs and music critics have often dismissed Metallica as mindless noise; we’re here to set the record straight. Metallica is more than just a band, and this book is much more than just a ticket to ride down memory lane.  This is an in-depth analysis of the soundtrack to your life.  So start your CD player, fire up your iPod, or, better yet, break out the old vinyl.  We’re going for a ride with the four horsemen, and a few philosophers too.

Get the audiobook at Audible.com!