Does Walter’s aggression illustrate the principles of just war theory?

Does bowling help Donny, Walter, and the Dude resist nihilism?

Does the Dude exemplify the Taoist way of life?

Is the Dude a feminist ally?

In the morally corrupt world of The Big Lebowski, the Dude emerges as a beacon of integrity, authenticity, and virtue. He is a philosopher’s hero who struggles to live the good life in spite of assault, rug peeing, an apparent kidnapping, and the death of a friend—and The Big Lebowski and Philosophy unpacks the deeper meaning of it all. Enlisting the help of great thinkers like Plato, Nietzsche, Aristotle, Gödel, Derrida, Freud, Wittgenstein, and Epicurus, the book explores the Dude’s pacifism and Walter’s warrior instincts, the class war between unemployed bums and capitalist achievers, and how leisure is an essential part of our human existence. Read this book and you’ll know why The Big Lebowski is one of the greatest existentialist movies of all time. But that’s just, you know, our opinion, man.

What does spider-sense reveal about the nature of perception?

Does great power really bring great responsibility?

How should Spider-Man fight villains who are former friends?

Can Spidey champion justice and be with Mary Jane at the same time?

Through decades of web-slinging adventures in comics, television shows, movies, and even on Broadway, Spider-Man has become one of our most beloved and enduring superheroes. Peter’s the classic underdog, and like many of us, he’s learned to combat the evils in his life with abilities he didn’t realize he had. Spider-Man and Philosophy untangles the complex web of philosophical dilemmas of Spidey and his world with the help of some of history’s most powerful thinkers, including Plato, Aristotle, Hegel, and Kierkegaard. From the morality of the wall-crawler’s jokes to whether he can maintain both of his lives as Peter and as a costumed crusader, from Spider-Man’s struggle with infinite debt and guilt to what it takes to live a good life, you’ll gain fascinating insights that are as compelling as the Webbed Wonder’s ability to climb walls, swing down boulevards, and shoot web bullets at the bad guys.

Why would Thomas Hobbes applaud the roommate agreement?

Why would Immanuel Kant heap haughty derision upon weaving un-unravelable webs?

Is Sheldon’s “scientistic” approach to everyday life healthy or doomed to failure?

Is Wil Wheaton truly evil?

The answers to your most pressing questions about The Big Bang Theory and its goofy geniuses can be found inside The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy. Packed with irresistibly geek-worthy insights on your favorite characters, storylines, and ideas, this book examines important themes involving ethics and virtue, science, semiotics, religion, and the human condition. It brings the thinking of some of the world’s greatest philosophers to bear on key aspects of the show, from Aristotle and Plato to Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Simone de Beauvoir, and others. You might find other philosophy books on science and cosmology, but only this one refers to Darth Vader Force-chokes, cloning Leonard Nimoy, and oompa-loompa-like engineers. Essential reading for every fan of The Big Bang Theory, this book explores whether comic book–wielding geeks can lead the good life, and whether they can know enough science to “tear the mask off nature and stare at the face of God.” Bazinga!

Do ordinary moral rules apply in the arena?

Can philosophy help Katniss decide between Gale and Peeta?

Could muttations someday become a reality?

Can the world of the Hunger Games shine a light into the dark corners of our own world?

Katniss Everdeen is “the girl who was on fire,” but she is also the girl who makes us think, dream, question authority, and rebel. The postapocalyptic world of Panem’s twelve districts is a divided society on the brink of war and struggling to survive, while the Capitol lives in the lap of luxury and pure contentment. At every turn in the Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and their many allies wrestle with harrowing choices and ethical dilemmas that push them to the brink. This thoughtful guide draws on the work of Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, Charles Darwin, and other engaging philosophical thinkers to take you deeper into the story. It gives you new insights into the Hunger Games series and its key characters, plot lines, and themes, including war, authenticity, social class, personal identity, altruism, gender, art, fashion, and moral choice.

Can wargs, direolves, and other magical beings reveal truths about consciousness and our own reality?

Does prophecy show that we are mere pawns of destiny, or are we free to live authentic lives?

If ever a story was ripe for philosophical analysis, George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series is. In Westeros and beyond the Narrow Sea, Martin’s fantasy world is filled with dozens of complex characters in conflict with themselves and others, facing self-doubt, moral hazard, deception, uncertainty, hubris, and social and political unrest. While the Seven Kingdoms have been plunged into war, beyond the Wall, the horrors of winter are coming. And far away, a young queen wrestles her destiny as she journeys to reclaim her home. This insightful guide draws on the works of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Descartes, Augustine, Plato, Aristotle, and many other great philosophers to analyze key characters and plotlines while exploring themes of war, honor, knowledge, morality, gender politics, and more.

What are the military ethics of the Kree-Skrull war?

Is Hank Pym morally responsible for Ultron’s behavior?

Can Kang really go back in time and kill himself?

Can an android love a human?

Avengers assemble! Confronting your most essential philosophical questions about Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, this powerful book will vanquish any confusion you may have regarding the many issues and conflicts involving your favorite band of superheroes and their crime-fighting adventures. Enlisting the help of an A-list team of history’s most prominent thinkers including Aristotle, John Locke, and Immanuel Kant, this book tackles the dilemmas no single great philosopher can withstand, whether in The Avengers comics, film, or animated television series. Armed with the insights and reflections of these formidable minds, you’ll understand Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the other members of Marvel’s all-star superhero team as never before, no matter where the quest for justice leads them next.

To catch a criminal, can Lisbeth and Mikael be criminals themselves?

Would Aristotle read Larsson’s mystery books on a beach?

Can revenge be ethical?

What’s the deal with all that coffee?

Drawing a thin moral line between their own actions and the criminal schemes they seek to unravel in the international bestselling Millennium Trilogy, tattooed and troubled computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and disgraced middle-aged journalist Mikael Blomkvist form the most unlikely pairing of heroes in popular fiction history—and one of the most compelling. Drawing on some of history’s greatest philosophical minds, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy gives fresh insight into the complex ethical framework of this sleuthing odd couple and the key epistemological themes driving Stieg Larsson’s ingeniously plotted tales of crime and corruption in Sweden’s dark underbelly. Topics such as the Aristotelian arguments for why we love revenge, Kantian theories explaining why so many women sleep with Mikael Blomkvist, feminist readings of Lisbeth Salander, and Larsson’s views on skepticism offer a huge helping of metaphysical morsels that will more than satisfy the intellectual appetite of devoted Larsson fans everywhere.

Is it immoral for Lindsay to lie about stealing clothes to hide her job?

Is Gob better off living his life in bad faith?

What inferences can we draw from Tobias’s double entendres?

Are the pictures really of bunkers or balls?

The Bluth family’s faults, foibles, and character flaws are so excruciatingly familiar that we squirm in painful recognition of the outrageous impulses that we all have but would never act on. The Bluths seem utterly unaware of the gaping distance between their behavior and accepted social norms. Lurking behind this craziness are large moral and philosophical issues to be explored. From Plato to Aristotle, from Descartes to Marx, Arrested Development and Philosophy draws from great philosophical minds to shed new light on the show’s key questions and captivating themes, including the nature of self-knowledge and happiness, business ethics and capitalist alienation, social class, the role of error in character development, and much more.