What can South Park tell us about Socrates and the nature of evil? How does The Office help us to understand Sartre and existentialist ethics? Can Battlestar Galactica shed light on the existence of God?Introducing Philosophy Through Pop Culture uses popular culture to illustrate important philosophical concepts and the work of the major philosophersWith examples from film, television, and music including Sout...

A philosophical look at the twisted, high-tech near-future of the sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror, offering a glimpse of the darkest reflections of the human condition in digital technologyBlack Mirror―the Emmy-winning Netflix series that holds up a dark, digital mirror of speculative technologies to modern society—shows us a high-tech world where it is all too easy to fall victim to ever-evolving forms of social control.In Black Mirror a...

A philosophical look at the movie Inception and its brilliant metaphysical puzzlesIs the top still spinning? Was it all a dream? In the world of Christopher Nolan's four-time Academy Award-winning movie, people can share one another's dreams and alter their beliefs and thoughts. Inception is a metaphysical heist film that raises more questions than it answers: Can we know what is real? Can you be held morally responsible for what you do in dreams?...

This is the first book to take a deep dive into the philosophical, social, moral, political, and religious issues tackled by Seth MacFarlane's marvelous space adventure, The Orville.These new essays explore what The Orville has to say on everything from climate change, artificial intelligence, and sexual assault, to gender, feminism, love, and care. Divided into six "acts" (just like every episode ofThe Orville), with the show as its backdrop, the book as...

Can Wonder Woman help us understand feminist philosophy? How Does Wakandan technology transcend anti-Blackness? What can Star Trek teach us about the true nature of reality?Introducing Philosophy Through Pop Culture makes important philosophical concepts and the work of major philosophers relevant, fun, and exciting. Using engaging examples from film and television, this easy-to-read book covers everything from basic metaphysics and epistemology to abstrac...

Much philosophical work on pop culture apologises for its use; using popular culture is a necessary evil, something merely useful for reaching the masses with important philosophical arguments. But works of pop culture are important in their own right--they shape worldviews, inspire ideas, change minds. We wouldn't baulk at a book dedicated to examining the philosophy of The Great Gatsby or 1984--why aren't Star Trek and Superman fair game as well? After...

The Singularity—the merger of man and machine into a greater whole—is finally within humanity's grasp. When programmer Jeff Lawing gets the opportunity to join Singularity Online, the world's first realistic VRMMO and the testing ground that will lead to the Singularity, he leaps to accept.Singularity is much more realistic and darker than Jeff had imagined, though. As a Sorcerer, his arcane magic is limited only by his imagination, allowing him to craft powerful spells forged from...

PHASE SHIFT INCOMING!Your local sector has been selected to undergo a Quantum Phase Shift in order to increase its habitability. Any humans who survive this process will receive more information on these changes.Expected Survival Rate: 1–5%Phase Shift begins in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Commence Phase Shift.Troias Drakos awakens to find that the world he knew is gone, and a new reality has risen to take its place. Most of Earth's life was kill...

War has come to the Lands of Light, and the defenders of the Light look to Aranos to fight it. An army of urukkai marches on Eredain, the spider-people move against the dwarven Skollhelds, and a horde of Shadowborn descend on the Human Kingdoms. The elven capital of Cyva Alari has fallen, and the fiendish bodakkai rage freely in the forests under the thrall of the twisted, insane Traveler Lily.The Lightborn are outnumbered and unprepared for war, their armies scattered, and their l...

Is the top still spinning? Was it all a dream? In the world of Christopher Nolan's four-time Academy Award-winning movie, people can share one another's dreams and alter their beliefs and thoughts. Inception is a metaphysical heist film that raises more questions than it answers: Can we know what is real? Can you be held morally responsible for what you do in dreams? What is the nature of dreams, and what do they tell us about the boundaries of "self" and "other"? Inception an...

War rages in the lands of Light, and the Darkness seems to be winning. Cities fall as the mad player Lily leads her armies against them, and hordes of Shadowborn descend on the Lightborn, seeking their destruction and enslavement. The Dark Pantheon itself has taken up arms against Aranos and his party, and he has only days to finish Redeeming the Arcane Doors before his Quest fails—which means the end of Geltheriel and the defeat of the Light.To overcome the Darkness, Aranos must d...

Black Mirror—the Emmy-winning Netflix series that holds up a dark, digital mirror of speculative technologies to modern society—shows us a high-tech world where it is all too easy to fall victim to ever-evolving forms of social control. In Black Mirror and Philosophy, original essays written by a diverse group of scholars invite you to peer into the void and explore the philosophical, ethical, and existential dimensions of Charlie Brooker's sinister stories. The collectio...