Customer Reviews

Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way (Popular Culture and Philosophy)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am not a great fan of comic books and have never really been into them in any way. I have also not really been impressed by the movies made from the more popular comic book heroes, (though X-Men was very cool). "Superheroes and Philosophy" proved to be an excellent choice of read despite these issues for me.

If you are likewise someone who has never read a comic book, or does not have Daredevil Issue #134, don't worry! Even if you missed the movies, don't worry! The contributors to the book have written their essays in such a way that anyone can enjoy them. Also, some superheroes are such cultural icons that any familiarity with the comics or the movies is basically unnecessary. The essays quote some of the comic books, but even the most unfamiliar characters pose no problem due to the explanations given.

Another aspect that was notable is that not all of the contributors are philosophers in the strict sense. Some of them are working in the industry of the superheroes for the companies that publish the books themselves. Shattering my previously held mythical belief that people who wrote comics were just adults going through prolonged puberty, some these contributors made the most astute and detailed observations about their craft. I was singularly impressed with the reflections they made on their own work, and the characters with which they dealt.

Other contributors made their essays relevant by focusing on the challenges that superheroes present to us and the questions they raise over how we live life. Bringing the more personal element into philosophy as shown through various heroes drew the concepts into reality and made them less abstract and more "concrete". This was something this volume achieved more than other volumes that I have read in the same series.

Comic fan or not, this is a book that fits well with the high standard set by other books in the "Popular Culture and Philosophy" series. As the 13th volume, it makes a worthy contribution to the series and is completely recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really gained a lot from it. All in all, a fantastic book that covers a large range of topics within the framework of a universe with superheroes and super-villians. I loved every page!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It With the concepts of the selfless fight for others, the need and use of secret identities for personal protection and the tendency of wearing one's underwear on the outside in your costume, the area of superheroes is a rich vein of topics for the discussion of philosophy. Anyone who has read comics as a kid (or an adult), watched the cartoons or movie exploits of super heroes can relate to the topics presented in these essays. Using "everyday life" of these heroes the authors look at why heroes would use powers for good, or even why be costumed heroes at all instead of using abilities for personal gain. And are the heroes and their everyday identities the same person, or are the secret identity and the superhero two distinct entities? The examinations cover the "zap" "pow" of classic superheroes like Superman, to the darker and more questionable "heroes" of more recent work such as The Watchmen. With such a broad and rich area to work with, it is refreshing to see so many essays mining different examples of superherodom to examine. Not all essays are great, but overall the book is interesting and fun reading, and yet again helps examine philosophical ideas through more popular arenas's Philosophy.

It's a good read that will stimulate some little grey cells. Topics such as moral relativism, identity (is Banner or Hulk the "real" one?), why do what's right, and so on are addressed in a pretty interesting way.
I agree with Eliott S! Maggin when he said "There is a right and a wrong in the universe, and most of the time it is not that hard to tell the difference."
If you also agree about the unexamined life not being worth living, look into this book. Even the author biographies are funny!
This is a much much better investment than those dopey The Science of Superheroes or ...Villains etc books.

I might be biased, since I did major in Philosophy and Religion...but I loved this book. Each essay was interesting and well-written, providing just enough background on the philospohies being discussed that it was easy to follow. Philosophy can be stodgy and dizzying at times, but pairing it with the themes found in popular comic books (and movie counterparts) makes it a much easier read. Thought-provoking and fun, this collection of essays will have you not only analyzing the lives of your favorite heroes, but your own life as well.

I used to read comics as a kid, but didn't really get "into" the messages they gave (Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns) until college. This book, a collection of essays detailing certain philosophical aspects of characters, motives, etc., is great backup material for anyone wishing to dig more into the entire genre of comics. Even though the authors of the essay are, for the most part, very educated people, the philosophy terms used are clear and the writing itself enjoyable to read. I read it in a weekend on a bus, but there was enough "meat" in it to make it worth reading again.

This book contains a wonderful series of Articles on Comic Book Superheroes and Ethics. I read this book while I was at the Joint Readiness Training Center. All the articles were of an Ideal length so I could read one or two of them between lulls in Training. It also sparks several engaginging Conversations between my soldiers and myself about the nature of Ethics as a superhero and as a soldier. I highly recommend this book as light yet engaging reading. A masterful little work that combined a love of comics and philosophy.

"Superman and Batman are the Plato and Aristotle of the comic-book world." (262).

If you agree with this, if you understand it, and if you find it both funny and accurate, then get this book.

*

I'm a fan of the "Philosophy And" series. Philosophy lurks everywhere, if we have our eyes open. Additionally, Neil Postman in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business makes the case that television is a form of epistemology. The same holds true for comic books. Since epistemology is a branch of philosophy, and comic books are a means of epistemology, then they demand our attention.

The book is a fun romp, with serendipitous discoveries. If you are a fan of such things, they buy this book.

However, I would rate most of the essays about a B+, or an A-. They are interesting, but many times the authors fall into a methodological trap. Philosophy can be defined two ways. One is the study of what people have said about things. The other is the love of wisdom. Too often the authors seem to take ideas and quotes to bolster their points. And they are very good at compare and contrast. But for wisdom, especially the love of wisdom, this is lacking.

Chapter 17 on the identify question which uses the Hulk/Banner as a case study, ignores multiple personality disorders. For a good discussion of time travel, read Chapter 18 by Richard Hanley.

Part of the problem has to do with the structure. They should have begun with metaphysics. Chapter 1 should be an overview along with 11 on comic book wisdom. Chapter 2 should be chapter 1, and the followed by all of Part 4. Part 3 on moral duty should come next, followed by the existential discussions in part 2. Lastly, focus on the image of a hero and secret identities.

On thing that surprised me is that so much morality traces itself back to the so-called God Hypothesis. Read "God, the Devil, and Matt Murdock," then chapters 12-16. The question raised (taking the lead from Socrates and Gyges's Ring), that if a powerful person can get away with evil, why not? Or from Republic Book 2 (Great Dialogues of Plato (Signet Classics), 158ff), compare an evil person who masks his evil with a good person who is labeled as evil, and they die that way. Why be good, if such a thing could conceivably happen. Although they do not mention him, this is the life of Job (Consider My Servant Job).

The conclusion of the various authors is that yes, you can get away it. And we find that disturbing. The only way to account for that is either Natural Law, or Divine Justice. Barring that, we should not be good. Which is absurd.

*

The prophet Job asked, "But where shall wisdom be found?" (Job 28:12). Apparently, one place is in comic books.

This is one enjoyable book. The collected authors have combined superheroes and philosophy in an entertaining and mind-stretching way. Personal favorites are "God, the Devil, and Matt Murdock" and "Comic Book Wisdom". I haven't read several of the series the book's articles talk about, and yet I was never lost. To disagree with one of the reviewers, religion and philosophy need to be discussed together. It hurts neither.

I picked this book up from the library with the thought of skimming over it; however, once I started, I literally couldn't put it down! It's an entertaining and thought-provoking collection of essays on super heroes in TV, movies and comics, their ethics, responsibilities, lack of religion, and more. The various essayists do a great job of comparing classical ideas from Plato, Aristotle, Pascal, the Bible, Kierkegaard and more, and their impact on the imaginary world of super heroes.

Tom and Matt Morris' Superheroes And Philosophy: Truth, Justice, And The Socratic Way super-hero figures are more popular than ever; and what way to link them to philosophy than through a book which compares actions to ethics. From friendships and moral duty to morality, women and teamwork, Superheroes And Philosophy offers a wide-ranging survey of popular cultural icons and their underlying values systems.