Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series) (Paperback)

~ (Editor), Robert Arp (Editor), William Irwin (Series Editor)
Key Phrases: have been the joker, virtuous hatred, kill the joker, Bruce Wayne, Gotham City, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this, the latest in Wiley's Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series (South Park and Philosophy, The Office and..., Metallica and...), editors White and Arp assert upfront, and without qualification (apparently, that's the contributors' job), their belief that Batman is "the most complex character ever to appear in comic books and graphic novels." Exploring certain works that have broadened the philosophical undercurrents of the Batman mythos (Frank Miller's Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns are cited often, but rarely the new movies), a raft of professors, students and PhD candidates paint Bruce Wayne's choices as, most often, either utilitarian or deontological, with basic descriptions of these systems helpfully provided for the novice. A few contributions broaden the discussion beyond the well-worn (origin stories of Batman and foes, etc.); casting butler Alfred as Kierkegaard's "knight of faith" to Batman's "knight of infinite resignation," contributor Christopher M. Drohan actually gets close to the archetypal sources that keep the serialized exploits of Batman and other comic heroes from getting stale. Unfortunately, most of these essays get old fast.
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Review

In this, the latest in Wiley’s Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series (South Park and Philosophy, The Office and…, Metallica and…), editors White and Arp assert upfront, and without qualification (apparently, that’s the contributors’ job), their belief that Batman is “the most complex character ever to appear in comic books and graphic novels.” Exploring certain works that have broadened the philosophical undercurrents of the Batman mythos (Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns are cited often, but rarely the new movies), a raft of professors, students and PhD candidates paint Bruce Wayne’s choices as, most often, either utilitarian or deontological, with basic descriptions of these systems helpfully provided for the novice. A few contributions broaden the discussion beyond the well-worn (origin stories of Batman and foes, etc.); casting butler Alfred as Kierkegaard’s “knight of faith” to Batman’s “knight of infinite resignation,” contributor Christopher M. Drohan actually gets close to the archetypal sources that keep the serialized exploits of Batman and other comic heroes from getting stale. Unfortunately, most of these essays get old fast. (July) (Publishers Weekly, July 28, 2008)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (June 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470270306
• ISBN-13: 978-0470270301
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,480 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is it virtuous to be Batman? WWBD. And What of Robin?, July 24, 2008

By	Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The editors and authors of this book have loved Batman since he is human and without super powers; he is so complex, he can be used as a vehicle or ploy to discuss philosophical concepts. I know little of formal philosophy, but this book was a good introduction to so many concepts, and quite intellectually funny at the same time. There are Six Parts in this book. Part One: Does The Dark Knight Always Do Right?; Part Two: Law Justice and the Social Order; Where Does Batman Fit In?; Part Three: Origins and Ethics: Why Become The Caped Crusader; Part Four: Who Is The Batman?; Part Five: Being The Bat: Insights from Existentialism and Taoism; and Part Six: Friend, Father.. Rival?: The Many Roles of The Bat.

Of course, much of this book was above my head and bat ears. But the parts I thoroughly enjoyed were quite informative. For example, in the first chapter, the author asks whether Batman is a Utilitarian or a Deontologist? Why doesn't Batman just kill the Joker, if he knows that he will merely kill again and kill close friends? Is the death of one Joker better than hundreds of innocent victims? The authors tell the story of a runaway trolley and a person who stands at the switch. The train can hit and kill five bystanders if you do nothing, or you can divert the track and the train will kill just one person. Can you get involved and kill fewer people? Are those parties deemed morally equivalent? Deontologists judge the morality of an act, regardless of the consequences (the ends do not justify the means). The second chapter looks at Ethics, in "Is it Right to Make a Robin?" "What should Bruce Wayne? How should he Live his life? What sort of person should he be?... Is it right (ethical) for Batman to take an orphan and train him to fight crime instead of turning him into social services? Can we excuse Batman for throwing a young man at vicious criminals in a spandex outfit? In this chapter, the reader learns about Kant, Mill, Bentham, Plato, and deon(duty)tological ethics, virtue ethics, universal ethics, and categorical (without exception) ethics. (Can Batman lie to the Joker? Can he choose to be ethical only some of the time?) In Chapter 3, the author looks at Aristotle and virtue ethics and Batman's hatred as a virtue. Batman, a loner, makes a virtue of vice, perhaps. The author asks whether Batman is virtuous or does he merely DO virtuous things?

In "Governing Gotham" the authors look at Batman as a reaction to the failure and incapacity of the government to control crime and protect Bruce Wayne's parents from being murdered. They throw in Max Weber's view of state legitimacy, as well as Hobbes' Leviathan. Plus they throw in Nietzsche and his views on the state as a threat to liberty and self expression. Can only the state use force to bring law and order? Or can Batman use force as well? In Chapter 11, the authors ask whether Batman Could Have Been the Joker?. They discuss identities and ModAl and metaphysics (the study of what exists and how it goes about existing). That was too deep for my pea sized brain. The same holds true for Chapter 12, in which Wittgenstein's ideas on identity and language are brought to bear on Batman. Chapter 18, on the nature of friendship (Batman and Superman), Aristotle, loyalty, and Nietsche's ubermensch were easier for me to understand. All these just skim the surface of the wealth of ideas and explanations found in this book. Reading it will spur great discussions on the new Batman film, and you will learn more about philosophical ideas than you thought possible.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read, October 3, 2008

By	B. Frisch "Brad224" (Blue Springs, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Very interesting read. The various authors seem to have done their homework - not only on philosophical ideas, but on the Batman mythos as well, and actually do a really good job of citing their sources and backing their claims with actual Batman storylines.

It's not the easiest read in the world - if you are expecting a graphic novel, think again - but philosophy itself isn't an easy subject to cover.

I like the fact they bring well-known philosophers' work to bear on the subject (Nietzsche, Singer, Kierkegaard for instance) so I was able to learn a little bit about them as well.

Overall a fun read, I enjoyed it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful bits of Philoposhy explained from Batman's Perspective, July 17, 2009

By	Atulya Bhimarasetty (Dekalb, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Batman and Philosophy, as name suggests, tries to explain things Batman does from a philosophical perspective. What I am trying to say is, in this book you will find a lot of reasoning for the things (good and bad) Batman does through the concepts, ideas and thinking of many great philosophers (Aristotle, Plato, Kant ..etc). Many questions which we had like:

Why doesn't Batman kill the Joker ?
Why really prompted Bruce Wayne to become Batman ?
Why does Batman consider Superman his good friend ?

are answered along the lines of reasoning provided by philosophers. Other than the questions above, there is a lot of good content which you will find really interesting. The entire book is divided into chapters each of which is authored by individuals contributing to the field of philosophy for a long time.

I personally enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to any one who would like to get their feet wet in the incredible world of philosophy and its incredible reasoning to things we do every day.