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Philosophers wittily and expertly uncover amazing philosophical insights from the endlessly fascinating TV show, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.Littmann shows how the values of the gang are the same as those of Homeric heroes. Ketcham argues that the Church should make Charlie a saint, partly because It’s Always Sunny is “all about free will.” Hamer shows how closely the gang’s activities comply with the scientific method. Alkema and Barkman analyze the way the gang perceives happiness and how they try to get it. Leonard proves beyond doubt that the game of Chardee MacDennis reveals everyone's unconscious desires. King examines the morality of the gang’s behavior by the standard of how they respond to extreme suffering. Chambers agrees that each of the five central characters is a terrible person, but argues that, given their circumstances, they are not truly to blame for their actions. Tanswell demonstrates that many of the gang’s wrong actions result not from immoral motives but from illogical thinking. Aylesworth uses examples from It’s Always Sunny to bring out some of the moral problems with real consent to sex. Jones reveals that Nietzsche foresaw everything the gang at Paddy's Pub would do.

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This collection of eighteen chapters by talented philosophical minds probes some of the many lessons to be learned from Orange Is the New Black (mostly the addictive Netflix comedy-drama but with some attention to the best-selling real-life book by Piper Kerman). The show and the book that inspired it both dramatically highlight the troubling, stressful situation of millions of incarcerated Americans. How do the show’s shower scenes shed light on the classical mind-body problem? How can we make our lives meaningful when our options are curtailed by authority? What does it mean to manipulate someone, and why is it bad? What can we learn about the peculiarity of human beliefs from Pennsatucky’s notion of the gay agenda? Is Litchfield Prison a preparation for life outside—or just a scale model of life outside? What could the governors of Litchfield learn from Jeremy Bentham and his panopticon? How is it that even in prison we find ourselves condemned to be free? Why is one of the worst things about prison being forced to see who and what we really are? It so happens that life in prison is absolutely full and overfull of philosophical implications. Orange Is the New Black and Philosophy stays close to the characters and scenes of the TV show, applying insights from ethics, existentialism, metaphysics, epistemology, and political philosophy. The book is aimed at thoughtful fans of this amazingly fine TV show, who want to learn more about its disturbing issues.

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The sharp-shooting authors in Justified and Philosophy take aim at many of the same philosophical problems that the Justified TV series grapples with. For instance, is Tim Olyphant's character, Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, morally justified in using his Wild-Wild-West-style vigilante tactics to clean up Harlan County, Kentucky? After all, the meth dealers, thieves, murderers, and other low-life scumbags all deserve what's coming to them, right? Not so fast, Quick-Draw McGraw! What about the law? What about a thorough and complete investigation of matters before dispensing so-called «justice»? What about the idea of the punishment fitting the crime?Deputy Marshal Givens wears a white hat and fights the «bad guys» so he must be a «good guy,» right? His opponents are violent drug dealers, white supremacists, and thieves. Givens carries a badge, but when he shoots or kills people, is it always justified? What other choice does he have? Would any other method be as effective in rural eastern Kentucky where criminal activity is one of the few viable options for making a living?The coal-mining culture of Harlan County, Kentucky is an important backdrop to Justified, and the issues surrounding the coal industry are addressed in some chapters. Some of them include health problems like black lung, the dissolution of communities, the reduction in employment alternatives, the destruction of the environment with mountain-top removal and fracking, and the increase in crime and poverty. If Boyd Crowder robs the coal company responsible for exploiting his community, is that justified?The relationship between Boyd and Raylan dates back to a childhood friendship. Then when they older, they worked in the mines together. One chapter explores the character and motivation of both men and argues that each follows a different moral compass. Another chapter discusses the importance of family to the character of Mags Bennett and how that guides her actions and sense of duty. Another topic of discussion is whether the end justifies the means when Boyd and his gang destroy a meth lab and end up killing one of the meth cookers.Other chapters delve into a variety of fascinating philosophical themes that emerge in this modern-day cowboy show.

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The drama-comedy show Girls—often under-rated by being perceived as Sex and the City for the Millennial generation—has made TV history and provoked controversy for its pitilessly accurate portrayal of four oddly sympathetic twenty-something female characters, notable for their self-absorption, empathy deficits, and ineptitude with relationships. Among other breakthroughs, it is the first show to depict the sex act among the alienated young as nearly always awkward and unfulfilling. In Girls and Philosophy, a team of diverse yet always sensitive, empathic, and ept philosophers approach the world of Girls from a variety of angles and philosophical points of view. Underlying this New York world is the new reality of ambitious yet unfocused young people from comparatively advantaged backgrounds having their expectations chilled by the severe and prolonged economic recession. The writers attack many fascinating issues arising from Girls, including the meaning of authenticity in the twenty-first century, coming of age in a society with no clear guidelines for most of what matters in life,Girls as the only TV show the pop-culture-hating professor Theodor Adorno might have admired, feminist appraisals of these not-very-feminist characters and their frustrations, what the wardrobes of the four mean philosophically, how each of the four deals with the anxiety that comes from inescapable freedom, whether we need to amend the traditional list of seven deadly sins in the context of present-day New York, how the speech of the Millennials illustrates Austin’s theory of speech acts, how the learning of Hannah, Shoshanna, Jessa, and Marnie compares with the ancient Greek theory of the education of the young, and of course, why we once again find it natural to think of women in their early- to mid-twenties as ‘girls’.

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Twenty-one philosophers join forces to investigate the implications of the Jurassic Park franchise for our lives, our values, and our future. Human beings live and thrive by modifying nature, but when do the risks of changing nature outweigh the likely benefits? If it’s true that “Life will find a way,” should we view any modified or newly reconstituted life as a hazard?The new scientific information we could gain by bringing back T. Rex or other dinosaurs is immense, including greater understanding of biology leading to immeasurable medical benefits, but should we choose to let sleeping dinosaurs lie? And if we do bring them back by reconstituting them from ancient DNA, are they really what they were, or is something missing? If life will find a way, then why isn’t the Dodo still around?How close are we, as a matter of fact, to achieving Jurassic Park? Are we really likely to see reconstituted dinosaurs or other ancient species in the near future? How do the different forces—human curiosity, profitability, and philanthropy—interact to determine what actually happens in such cases? What moral standards should be applied to those who try to bring back lost worlds? If velociraptors could talk, what would they tell us? The idea of bringing back the dead and the powerful is not limited to biological species. It also applies to bringing back old gods, old philosophies, old institutions, and old myths. If revived and once again let loose to walk the Earth, these too may turn out to be more dangerous than we bargained for.

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Why do so many people – sometimes even intelligent people – swallow the preposterous claims of religion? G.A. Wells, the leading freethinker of our time, tries to shed light on this puzzle in his entertaining and enormously learned book, Belief and Make-Believe.Professor Wells begins by analyzing the nature of belief. To dispel popular confusions on the relation between words and thoughts, he compares the thinking process of scientists, laymen, and chimpanzees.The power of emotion and instinct to help form people's ideological outlooks is analyzed by preference to «defiance» and «reliance», polar attitudes which arise from the need for dominance and submission in primate groups. Wells shows the influence of defiance and reliance in patriotism and in monotheistic religions, where submission to the will of the omnipotent is a wonderful technique for feeling secure in the face of life's actual and ineradicable dangers.Since the knowledgeable Christians now accept that the Bible is uneven, unreliable, and sometimes morally abhorrent, and that the New Testament account of the origin of Christianity is mostly legend, various attempts have been made to save something from the debris by selective re-interpretation. Wells evaluates several typical examples, showing how the apologists shrink from the clear implications of their arguments, which would demolish the whole edifice of Christian doctrine.Finally, Professor Wells debunks some of the extravagant and mystical claims that have been made for the arts, notably poetry, as quasi-religious vehicles for gaining insights into the human condition.

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This dramatic re-evaluation of Sartre’s ethical theory establishes its author as a leading American exponent of phenomenology and wins many new followers for Sartre in the English-speaking world.

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This book aims to reinvigorate the Marxist project and the role it might play in illuminating the way beyond capitalism. Though political economy and scientific investigation are needed for pure Marxism, Martin’s argument is that the extent to which these elements are needed cannot be determined within the conversations of political economy and other investigations into causal mechanisms. What has not been done, and what this book does, is to argue for the possibility of a rethought Marxism that takes ethics as its core, displacing political economy and «scientific» investigation.

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The Atkins diet has transformed the lives of millions of people, revolutionizing grocery store shelves, restaurant menus, and dinner-table conversations. But there are questions beyond its efficacy and longevity. Is the Atkins diet a new wrinkle in capitalist exploitation or a twisted expression of negative body images? Is it a symbol of super-masculinity? Has the Atkins diet really been around for centuries under other names? Can it increase intelligence, or cause global warming and melt the polar ice caps? How does Atkins fit into Kant’s conception of the moral life, or Rousseau’s vision of a kinder, gentler human society? The Atkins Diet and Philosophy wittily explores these and other pressing questions in sixteen entertaining essays. Following the same fun, readable approach as earlier volumes in this series, this book uses philosophy to put the Atkins diet under the microscope, and uses the Atkins diet to teach vital philosophical lessons for life.

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The Chronicles of Narnia series has entertained millions of readers, both children and adults, since the appearance of the first book in 1950. Here, scholars turn the lens of philosophy on these timeless tales. Engagingly written for a lay audience, these essays consider a wealth of topics centered on the ethical, spiritual, mythic, and moral resonances in the adventures of Aslan, the Pevensie children, and the rest of the colorful cast. Do the spectacular events in Narnia give readers a simplistic view of human choice and decision making? Does Aslan offer a solution to the problem of evil? What does the character of Susan tell readers about Lewis’s view of gender? How does Lewis address the Nietzschean “master morality” embraced by most of the villains of the Chronicles? With these and a wide range of other questions, this provocative book takes a fresh view of the world of Narnia and expands readers’ experience of it.

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