The Undead and Philosophy: Chicken Soup for the Soulless (Popular Culture and Philosophy) [Paperback]

Richard Greene (Editor), K. Silem Mohammad (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2006 | Series: Popular Culture and Philosophy (Book 22)

Though Bram Stoker coined the term, the undead have stalked the human imagination for eons, appearing in the myths and legends of nearly all cultures. The concept of people, or unpeople, interacting with others while devoid of humanity provides a wealth of material for philosophical speculation. Encompassing George Romero’s radiation-spawned Living Dead, the “infected” of 28 Days Later, as well as more traditional zombies and vampires, the essays in The Undead and Philosophy ponder questions such as: Is it cool to be undead, or does it totally suck? Is a zombie simply someone with a brain but without a mind? Are some of the people around us undead, and how could we tell? Can the undead be held responsible for what they do? Is it always morally OK to kill the undead? Served up in a witty, entertaining style, these and other provocative questions present philosophical arguments in terms accessible to all readers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Open Court; First Edition edition (August 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812696018
• ISBN-13: 978-0812696011
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #663,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

K. Silem Mohammad is the author of four books of poetry: Deer Head Nation (Tougher Disguises, 2003), A Thousand Devils (Combo Books, 2004), Breathalyzer (Edge Books, 2008), and The Front (Roof Books, 2009). He is Associate Professor of English & Writing at Southern Oregon University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deathly and Warm, May 25, 2007

By 

Bu-Chan (Aotearoa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Undead and Philosophy: Chicken Soup for the Soulless (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Paperback)

With plenty of blood sucking, flesh eating, seduction, grunting and more gore, (and some philosophy), this is one of the more interesting "Popular Culture and Philosophy" instalments from Open Court. Nineteen essays and more zombies than you can smash with a baseball bat.

Although there is some overlap, the first part deals main with Zombies, drawing heavily from the Romero zombie films, along with some others. The second half of the book seems to focus more on the vampires, with particular focus on the novel "Dracula", (no surprises there), and also heavily from Anne Rice's "Interview with a Vampire", including the movie itself. I am not sure of this separation was intended, but it works well and there are some unique features to each of these groups.

I found the first couple of essays, mainly those dealing with the nature of personhood and continued existence, a bit tough to get my head around. They were mainly in connection with zombies. If one finds it the same, wade through and persist, as it soon calms down and the essays are not only accessible overall, but very interesting and though provoking. I mean, I had never even considered a vampire who was not intrinsically evil to be a possibility. Some aspects of the "philosophical zombie thought experiment" left me a bit puzzled, as well.

I did not agree with everything the contributors concluded, (such as the vegetarian essay), but I have to say that the essays were all well-written and presented. I enjoyed the wander through a genre I do not generally get into. The only zombie film I have ever seen is Shaun of the Dead.

The elements of philosophy range from existentialism, (big bits on Heidegger and Neitzsche), through phenomenology and epistemology and more. This is a very thorough and varied book.

For fans of the series and new readers alike, this is definitely a "must have". A great book on a great topic.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep thoughts for the Dead., December 26, 2006

By 

Patrick S. Dorazio "Author of The Dark Trilogy" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Undead and Philosophy: Chicken Soup for the Soulless (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Paperback)

I am a fan of horror fiction. In particular I have been extremely fascinated with both movies and books related to zombies lately. Vampires are another lesser fascination for me. Overall, the undead and the darkness they represent to humanity is a intriguing subject.

For years I have pondered the significance of the movies of Romero and the societal implications of his great works. Apparently I have only scratched the surface compared to the varied philosophical thinkers that delve into the concept into this book.

Lets get beyond asking whether or not the undead exist, lets ask whether they have the right to exist, to feed on human beings, if they are morally responsible for their actions and what we as human beings should accept from those who have returned from the grave. This books dives right in with a wide variety of philosophical pundits.

Never before have I experienced the broad range of analysis on the undead and their meaning to us as human beings: why there is a need to create such revenants, how they reflect our own desires and needs, and what role they play in our lives.

While the authors do tie the undead discussion in with a tremendous range of significant thinkers of the philsophical world, this is definitely not dry text book material. It is extremely topical and certainly would be a subject for a class I would be in line to take if I were once again a college student. The storybook and movie references range from Bram Stoker's Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the blood-sucker side of the house and Romero as well as several of the zombie spin-off movies and books. I was impressed at the knowledge demonstrated-references to a variety of books and films were made that I certainly would not have expected.

Very informative and often profound, this book gave me a great deal more appreciation for topics that I felt I already had a tremendous respect and fondness for. Now when one of my friends who feels that more "mainstream" movies and books have more societal relevance I can dazzle them with key topics of discussion mulled over in this remarkable work and blow their minds with debates that are just not possible with just us mere mortals in the equation.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking, but a little lacking, June 13, 2007

By 

E. K. M. Busch "award-winning dork" (pittsburgh, pa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Undead and Philosophy: Chicken Soup for the Soulless (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Paperback)

I love this series, and this is one of the finest of the newer bunch. I liked this book, as I spend (er, waste) of lot of time thinking about such crap anyway. Maybe that's the reason I felt that a lot of these works skipped some rather obvious insights (like, the reason zombies scare the crap out of people is because they are a snapshot of the conditions under which the person died horribly, and invite us to speculate about what happened - and what will inevitably happen to us). I guess if you've never thought about vegetarianism and zombies before, but you'd like to, this is your book. But really, either you've already thought about that, or else you'll never care, right? A nice companion to Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth.