In Space, Can Anyone Hear Your Philosophy? A Look at Alien and Philosophy with Editor/Contributor Jeffrey Ewing By M.B. Sutherland One measure of a good story is how much time you spend thinking about it after it ends. Does it make you wonder what the characters were thinking? What motivated them? Does it make…
The Sound of Psychos Clowns and Chaos in American Horror Story Andrea Zanin “The clown is a creature of chaos. His appearance is an affront to our sense of dignity, his actions a mockery of our sense of order.” – Tom Robbins In American Horror Story: Hotel, John Wayne Gacy shows his face in…
Fullmetal Alchemist and Personal Identity By Darian Shump “I kill, therefore I am.” – Barry the Chopper (FMA: Brotherhood, Episode 8: The Fifth Laboratory) In Episode 7 (“Hidden Truths”) of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the Elric brothers infiltrate an abandoned government complex they suspect was used to conduct experiments on condemned prisoners in an…
Wonder Woman, Guns, and The Problem of Evil By Edwardo Pérez In 2017’s Wonder Woman, we get Princess Diana’s origin story – part Batman (people she loves are killed and she wants payback), part Superman (she’s a gift to humanity sent to protect us), and part, well, Wonder Woman. She’s not only able to pick…
Review of Lego and Philosophy All in all, it’s not just another brick in the toy chest. At least that’s the conclusion you might reach after reading a new book coedited by University of Minnesota philosophy professor Roy T. Cook titled “LEGO and Philosophy: Constructing Reality Brick by Brick.” Cook and co-editor Sondra Bacharach, a…
Matthew Westfox I was excited to read Wonder Woman and Philosophy: The Amazonian Mystique because it promised the chance to dive neck deep into that conversations. It did not disappoint. It is fitting for a character who has spoken in so many different voices over the years, that this book is a collection of essays by…
How We Remain Free Why Kingdom Come is More Relevant than Ever by Armond Boudreaux A Book for Today Superhero comics have always reflected upon the values, beliefs, aspirations, and fears of our culture. Since the beginning they’ve commented upon what it means to be human and spoken to the particular problems of our times.…
The Philosophy of the Alien Films: Interview with Jeffrey A. Ewing by Ray Blank Released in 1979, Ridley Scott’s Alien combined H.R. Giger’s disturbing aesthetics with a tremendous cast, most of whom were viciously slaughtered before the film was done. Alien pulled off the trick of adding new ingredients to a rich tradition in storytelling, reimagining a classic horror scenario…
What Video Games can Teach us about Philosophy Philosophers have long used thought experiments to explore ethical dilemmas. But now video games are allowing us to act out these scenarios, writes Jordan Erica Webber. Read the whole article here.
Sophie’s Other Choices Edwardo Pérez NPR’s “Think” podcast recently featured Binghamton University philosophy professor Lisa Tessman discussing “Impossible Moral Dilemmas” and I just happened to tune in as a caller to the program asked about the film Sophie’s Choice. Full disclosure: I’ve always avoided seeing that movie because its premise was so horrifying to me,…
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series 