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Does the world need bad men? Does Rust really know who he is? Is the light winning? And why life rather than death? As arguably one of the most existential flagship series in modern times,
True Detective's spine-chilling storylines have attracted a fervently questioning fan-base, alongside significant online coverage and fan sites, inspiring substantial philosophical debate from both fans and serious philosophers alike.
True Detective and Philosophy delves into the many existential and ethical questions that arise in this darkly complex, character-driven series. Investigating the deep philosophical issues behind the show's characters and engrossing narratives, these eighteen original essays explore questions that include: Why Life Rather Than Death? Cosmic Horror and Hopeful Pessimism, the Illusion of Self, Noir, Tragedy, Philosopher-Detectives, and more. Essential reading for fans and philosophers, the stimulating chapters in
True Detective and Philosophy accessibly explore the deeper meanings behind this genre-expanding crime show.
List of contents
Introduction: Welcome to the Psychosphere ix
Jacob Graham and Tom Sparrow Part I "It's All One Ghetto, Man ... a Giant Gutter in Outer Space": Pessimism and Anti-natalism 1 1 Why Life Rather than Death? Answers from Rustin Cohle and Arthur Schopenhauer 3
Sandra Shapshay 2 Grounding Carcosa: Cosmic Horror and Philosophical Pessimism in True Detective 11
Christopher Mountenay 3 Hart and Cohle: The Hopeful Pessimism of True Detective 22
Joshua Foa Dienstag 4 Loving Rust's Pessimism: Rationalism and Emotion in True Detective 31
Rick Elmore 5 Rust's Anti-natalism: The Moral Imperative to "Opt Out of a Raw Deal" 42
Chris Byron Part II "we Get the World We Deserve": Cruelty, Violence, Evil, and Justice 53 6 Where Is the Cruelty in True Detective? 55
G. Randolph Mayes 7 Nevermind: Subjective and Objective Violence in Vinci 65
Luke Howie 8 Naturalism, Evil, and the Moral Monster: The Evil Person in True Detective 76
Peter Brian Barry 9 "But I Do Have a Sense of Justice": Law and Justice in the Bleak World of Vinci 87
Beau Mullen Part III "everybody's Nobody": Consciousness, Existence, and Identity 97 10 A Dream Inside a Locked Room: The Illusion of Self 99
Evan Thompson 11 I Am Not Who I Used to Be, But Am I Me? Personal Identity and the Narrative of Rust 108
Andrew M. Winters 12 "The Light Is Winning" 120
Sarah K. Donovan 13 The Tragic Misstep: Consciousness, Free Will, and the Last Midnight 132
Daniel P. Malloy Part IV "this Is My Least Favorite Life": Noir, Tragedy, and Philosopher-detectives 143 14 The Tragedy of True Detective Season Two: Living Our "Least Favorite Lives" 145
Alison Horbury 15 The Noir Detective and the City 158
Chuck Ward 16 Cohle and Oedipus: The Return of the Noir Hero 169
Daniel Tutt Part V "Time Is a Flat Circle": Time in True Detective 177 17 Time Is a Flat Circle: Nietzsche's Concept of Eternal Recurrence 179
Lawrence J. Hatab 18 Eternal Recurrence and the Philosophy of the "Flat Circle" 186
Paul A. DiGeorgio Known Associates 196
Index 201
About the author
Jacob Graham is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia. His research focuses on ancient and modern philosophy, as well the value of philosophy in popular culture.
Tom Sparrow is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania. His primary research is in continental philosophy and phenomenology. His recent publications include
Plastic Bodies (2015) and
The End of Phenomenology (2014).
William Irwin (series editor) is Herve A. LeBlanc Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of Philosophy at King's College in Pennsylvania. Irwin originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books with Seinfeld and Philosophy in 1999 and is the General Editor of The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series. He has overseen recent titles including
The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy, Wonder Woman and Philosophy, and
Alien and Philosophy.
Summary
Investigating the trail of philosophical leads in HBO s chilling True Detective series, an elite team of philosophers examine far-reaching riddles including human pessimism, Rust s anti-natalism, the problem of evil, and the flat circle .
