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Informationen zum Autor 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 bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles, including Watchmen and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, and Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy. Klappentext 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? Zusammenfassung Being a crime fighting superhero is a tough job and it comes with no shortage of social and moral responsibilities. Inhaltsverzeichnis 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 Doesn't Batman Kill the Joker? 5 Mark D. White 2 Is It Right to Make a Robin? 17 James DiGiovanna 3 Batman's Virtuous Hatred 28 Stephen Kershnar PART TWO LAW, JUSTICE, AN D THE SOCIAL ORDER: WHERE DOES BATMAN FIT IN? 4 No Man's Land : Social Order in Gotham City and New Orleans 41 Brett Chandler Patterson 5 Governing Gotham 55 Tony Spanakos 6 The Joker's Wild: Can We Hold the Clown Prince Morally Responsible? 70 Christopher Robichaud PART THREE ORIGINS AND ETHICS: BECOMING THE CAPED CRUSADER 7 Batman's Promise 85 Randall M. Jensen 8 Should Bruce Wayne Have Become Batman? 101 Mahesh Ananth and Ben Dixon 9 What Would Batman Do? Bruce Wayne as Moral Exemplar 114 Ryan 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 129 Sarah K. Donovan and Nicholas P. Richardson 11 Could Batman Have Been the Joker? 142 Sam Cowling and Chris Ragg 12 Batman's Identity Crisis and Wittgenstein's Family Resemblance 156 Jason Southworth 13 What Is It Like to Be a Batman? 167 Ron Novy PART FIVE BEING THE BAT: INSIGHTS FROM EXISTENTIALISM AND TAOISM 14 Alfred, the Dark Knight of Faith: Batman and Kierkegaard 183 Christopher M. Drohan 15 Dark Nights and the Call of Conscience 198 Jason J. Howard 16 Batman's Confrontation with Death, Angst, and Freedom 212 David M. Hart PART SIX FRIEND, FATHER, . . . RIVAL? TH E MANY ROLES OF THE BAT 17 Why Batman Is Better Than Superman 227 Galen Foresman 18 World's Finest . . . Friends? Batman,Superman, and the Nature of Friendship 239 Daniel P. Malloy 19 Leaving the Shadow of the Bat: Aristotle, Kant, and Dick Grayson on ...
