Beschreibung
Why doesn't Batman just kill the Joker and end everyone's misery? Can we hold the Joker morally responsible for his actions? Is Batman better than Superman? If everyone followed Batman's example, would Gotham be a better place? What is the Tao of the Bat? Batman is one of the most complex characters ever to appear in comic books, graphic novels, and on the big screen. What philosophical trials does this superhero confront in order to keep Gotham safe? Combing through seventy years of comic books, television shows, and movies, Batman and Philosophy explores how the Dark Knight grapples with ethical conundrums, moral responsibility, his identity crisis, the moral weight he carries to avenge his murdered parents, and much more. How does this caped crusader measure up against the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Kierkegaard, and Lao Tzu?
Autorenportrait
MARK D. WHITE is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY.
ROBERT ARP is a postdoctoral research associate through the National Center for Biomedical Ontology at the University at Buffalo, and edited South Park and Philosophy.
WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King's College. He originated the philosophy and pop culture gentre of books as coeditor of the bestsellingThe Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles, includingWatchmen and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, andAlice in Wonderland and Philosophy.
Inhalt
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The Oscar Speech George Clooney Never Got to Make ix
Introduction: Riddle Me This . . . 1
PART ONE DOES THE DARK KNIGHT ALWAYS DO RIGHT?
1 Why Doesnt Batman Kill the Joker? 5Mark D. White
2 Is It Right to Make a Robin? 17James DiGiovanna
3 Batmans Virtuous Hatred 28Stephen Kershnar
PART TWO LAW, JUSTICE, AN D THE SOCIAL ORDER: WHERE DOES BATMAN FIT IN?
4No Mans Land: Social Order in Gotham City and New Orleans 41Brett Chandler Patterson
5 Governing Gotham 55Tony Spanakos
6 The Jokers Wild: Can We Hold the Clown Prince Morally Responsible? 70Christopher Robichaud
PART THREE ORIGINS AND ETHICS: BECOMING THE CAPED CRUSADER
7 Batmans Promise 85Randall M. Jensen
8 Should Bruce Wayne Have Become Batman? 101Mahesh Ananth and Ben Dixon
9 What Would Batman Do? Bruce Wayne as Moral Exemplar 114Ryan Indy Rhodes and David Kyle Johnson
PART FOUR WHO IS THE BATMAN? (IS THAT A TRICK QUESTION?)
10 Under the Mask: How Any Person Can Become Batman 129Sarah K. Donovan and Nicholas P. Richardson
11 Could Batman Have Been the Joker? 142Sam Cowling and Chris Ragg
12 Batmans Identity Crisis and Wittgensteins Family Resemblance 156Jason Southworth
13 What Is It Like to Be a Batman? 167Ron Novy
PART FIVE BEING THE BAT: INSIGHTS FROM EXISTENTIALISM AND TAOISM
14 Alfred, the Dark Knight of Faith: Batman and Kierkegaard 183Christopher M. Drohan
15 Dark Nights and the Call of Conscience 198Jason J. Howard
16 Batmans Confrontation with Death, Angst, and Freedom 212David M. Hart
PART SIX FRIEND, FATHER, . . . RIVAL? TH E MANY ROLES OF THE BAT
17 Why Batman Is Better Than Superman 227Galen Foresman
18 Worlds Finest . . . Friends? Batman,Superman, and the Nature of Friendship 239Daniel P. Malloy
19 Leaving the Shadow of the Bat: Aristotle, Kant, and Dick Grayson on Moral Education 254Carsten Fogh Nielsen
20 The Tao of the Bat 267Bat-Tzu
CONTRIBUTORS : The Clown Princes (and Princess) of Casuistry and Categorical Imperatives 279
INDEX : From the Secret Files of Oracle, Master Indexer to the DCU 285
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