The Sopranos and Philosophy: I Kill Therefore I Am (Popular Culture and Philosophy) [Paperback]

Richard Greene (Editor), Peter Vernezze (Editor), Vincent Pastore (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Popular Culture and Philosophy | Publication Date: March 16, 2004

Tony Soprano and the gang meet classic and modern philosophy in these witty, provocative essays. Covering everything from Aristotle to ziti, 17 wiseguys (three of them gals) explore such irresistible topics as: Is Tony Soprano a good man? Is Carmela a feminist? Morally speaking, who is the worst person on The Sopranos? Is watching the show harmful to one's moral health? And what if Tony had read Sun Tzu instead of Machiavelli?

This collection of essays by philosophers who are also fans does a deep probe of the Sopranos, analyzing the adventures — and personalities — of Tony, Carmela, Livia, and the rest of television's most irresistible Mafia family for their metaphysical, epistemological, value theory, Eastern philosophical, and contemporary postmodern possibilities. No prior philosophical qualifications or mob connections are required to enjoy these musings, which are presented with the same vibrancy and wit that have made the show such a hit.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Open Court (March 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812695585
• ISBN-13: 978-0812695588
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A philosophy professor for fifteen years, I recently took a leave of absence to join the Peace Corps and served two years as a volunteer at Sichuan Normal University in Chengdu. During this time I held a philosophical discussion group with my Chinese undergraduates, which serves as the basis for my forthcoming book Socrates in Sichuan: Chinese Students Search for Truth, Justice and the Chinese Way (Potomac Books). The book attempts to bring together my academic experience as a student and teacher of Chinese philosophy and culture with my practical experience as a Peace Corps volunteer. The book is a continuation of my passion for writing about intellectual matters for non-specialists. At present, I am a sojourner in civilized life again.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blastin' ahead with the Sopranos!!!!, June 1, 2004

By 

William R Hall (Fort Collins, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sopranos and Philosophy: I Kill Therefore I Am (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Paperback)

Finally, a great book for a great series. I am a fan of The Sopranos but was unfamiliar with the Open Court Popular Culture and Philosophy series before picking up this volume, so I can't speak to how this book compares to others in the series. But as a Sopranos fan, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and that it added to my appreciation and understanding of my favorite show. To give a few examples, the essays on Sun-Tzu and Machiavelli explained clearly to a non-philosopher who these two figures (both of whom Tony mentions) are and why knowing something about them helps you to understand the motivation of some of the characters on the show. An issue which has long interested me has been whether watching the show can actually be morally harmful, and two of the essays in the book specifically addressed this topic (and put my mind at ease). And the entire ethics section provided an nice overview of this daunting subject and explained its relevance to the series, focusing on such issues as whether the series espouses a relativistic viewpoint (it doesn't), and whether Carmela is a feminist (she's on her way).
The seventeen essays are grouped under five headings: history of philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion. If these topics sound too academic for a show like The Sopranos, don't worry. All but one or two of the essays are written in a style accessible to the general reading public.
The essays provide a good mix of discussion of the first four seasons of the show. The essay on nihilism traces Tony's existential crisis across the first fifty-two episodes. The chapter on how The Sopranos is like a Greek tragedy focuses primarily on season one, whereas the essay on the problem of evil places emphasis on the dominance of that issue in season four. While many of the essays focus on Tony (for obvious reasons), it seems all the major characters are amply covered. Carmela gets an essay devoted entirely to her, and Dr. Melfi is prominently discussed in several essays. Even Charmaine Bucco comes under scrutiny.
The authors love for the show is evident in every essay, and the editors seem to have taken great care to get things right. I checked many of the quotes against my DVD copies of the series and found them dead on accurate. My only complaint is that I would have liked more essays. And though I am glad Open Court decided to put the volume out now, since it has greatly deepened my appreciation for The Sopranos, I hope they put out a revised version once the series ends.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Leave the Gun, Take the Philosophy, April 17, 2004

By 

P. O'Rourke "Patrick T. O'Rourke" (Highlands Ranch, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sopranos and Philosophy: I Kill Therefore I Am (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Paperback)

I come at this review with two biases. First, I majored in Philosophy in college and never quit reading it. Second, I love the Sopranos. So it's no great surprise that I liked this book. What is a surprise is that I think lots of people will like this book, even if they've never had much of a desire to pursue philosophy.

There's a nice balance of classic philosophy (Tony Soprano as Aristotelean hero), 19th century philosophy (Sopranos as nihilism), eastern philosophy (Tony's use of Sun Tzu to guide him in the business), and modern philosophy (Carmela as feminist). Using a successful television series to demonstrate how philosophy is more than abstract throught and can be used to guide modern actions is a tremendously clever idea.

If you are looking for hard-core philosophy, this is not your book. There's no Hegelian dialectics or heavy language to digest. Instead, this is a fun and easy way to expose yourself to philosophy or refresh yourself on many different schools of thought. The Sopranos is a great backdrop against which the reader can explore the ethics of modern society.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not as profound as I'd hoped, May 30, 2007

By 

Carolyoga - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sopranos and Philosophy: I Kill Therefore I Am (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Paperback)

The book was fine, I found the articles interesting but some of them were not as thought-provoking as I'd hoped they'd be. I bought it as a gift for a friend and decided to read it first. Some of the chapters just sounded like they were written by academics with too much time on their hands or grad students making a first attempt . . . a lot of analysis without any really profound conclusions that I wouldn't have drawn on my own. The more interesting ones were "Tony Soprano as ethical manager" and "The Sopranos and subjectivist ethics."