Freshly Printed - allow 7 days lead
Couldn't load pickup availability
Superman and Philosophy
What Would the Man of Steel Do?
William Irwin (Series edited by), W Irwin (Author), Mark D. White (Edited by)
9781118018095, Wiley
Paperback / softback, published 26 April 2013
256 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.345 kg
"As can be noted from my comments above, any book that will make you think or react makes for an interesting read and ‘Superman And Philosophy’ succeeds in doing that. One should always be glad that Superman sees himself as the good scout otherwise the DC Earth would truly be hell." (SFCrowsnest.org.uk, 1 June 2013) “And this delightfully appealing tome does exactly that…” (Comics Review, 25 April 2013)
Go beyond the cape and into the mind of the Man of Steel, in time for release of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel movie and Superman's 75th anniversary He has thrilled millions for 75 years, with a legacy that transcends national, cultural, and generational borders, but is there more to the Man of Steel than just your average mythic superhero in a cape? The 20 chapters in this book present a fascinating exploration of some of the deeper philosophical questions raised by Superman, the Last Son of Krypton and the newest hero in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture arsenal.
Introduction: It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane … It’s Philosophy! 1 Part One The Big Blue Boy Scout: Ethics, Judgment, and Reason 3 1 Moral Judgment: The Power That Makes Superman Human 5 2 Action Comics! Superman and Practical Reason 16 3 Can the Man of Tomorrow Be the Journalist of Today? 26 4 Could Superman Have Joined the Third Reich? The Importance and Shortcomings of Moral Upbringing 37 Part Two Truth, Justice, and the American Way: What Do They Mean? 47 5 Clark Kent Is Superman! The Ethics of Secrecy 49 6 Superman and Justice 61 7 Is Superman an American Icon? 71 Part Three The Will to Superpower: Nietzsche, the Übermensch, and Existentialism 83 8 Rediscovering Nietzsche’s Übermensch in Superman as a Heroic Ideal 85 9 Superman or Last Man: The Ethics of Superpower 101 10 Superman: From Anti-Christ to Christ-Type 111 11 Superman Must Be Destroyed! Lex Luthor as Existentialist Anti-Hero 121 Part Four The Ultimate Hero: What Do We Expect from Superman? 131 12 Superman’s Revelation: The Problem of Violence in Kingdom Come 133 13 A World Without a Clark Kent? 145 14 The Weight of the World: How Much Is Superman Morally Responsible For? 157 Part Five Superman and Humanity: A Match Made on Krypton? 169 15 Superman and Man: What a Kryptonian Can Teach Us About Humanity 171 Contents vii 16 Can the Man of Steel Feel Our Pain? Sympathy and Superman 181 17 World’s Finest Philosophers: Superman and Batman on Human Nature 194 Part Six Of Superman and Superminds: Who Is Superman, Anyway? 205 18 “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s … Clark Kent?” Superman and the Problem of Identity 207 19 Superman Family Resemblance 217 20 Why Superman Should Not Be Able to Read Minds 225 Contributors: Trapped in the Philosophy Zone 237 Index: From Brainiac’s Files 243
Mark D. White
Brian Feltham
Jason Southworth and Ruth Tallman
Robert Sharp
Daniel P. Malloy
Christopher Robichaud
Andrew Terjesen
Arno Bogaerts
David Gadon
Adam Barkman
Sarah K. Donovan and Nicholas Richardson
David Hatfield
Randall M. Jensen
Audrey L. Anton
Leonard Finkelman
Andrew Terjesen
Carsten Fogh Nielsen
Nicolas Michaud
Dennis Knepp
Mahesh Ananth
Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP]
