Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way

by Tom Morris, Dennis O'Neil, Jeph Loeb, et al.

Book Overview

The comic book superheroes -- Superman, Batman, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and many others -- have proved to be a powerful and enduring thread in popular culture, a rich source of ideas for moviemakers, novelists, and philosophers. Superheroes and Philosophy brings together 16 leading philosophers and some of the most creative people in the world of comics, from storywriters to editors to critics, to examine the deeper...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812695739
• ISBN13: 9780812695731
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Open Court
• Length: 281 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Super Fascinating!

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.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Philosophy!

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.

A Solid, Fun Resource For Any Comics Fan

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.

Field reading

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.

Philosophy With Some POW! WHAM! ZAP!

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!