Superheroes: The Best of Philosophy and Pop
Culture edited by William Irwin
Alex’s
Review: by Alex Knapp, Contributing
Author
As appeared in Forbes Magazine
This is a compilation of the “best of” essays
from the various superhero books in the
Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series.
I’ve read a few books like this and have a
couple on the shelves. Being a fan of both
superheroes and philosophy, it wasn’t hard to
like this book. For me, though, there were three
standout essays, two of which were both by
Professor Mark D. White, aka the
Comics
Professor. The first is “Captain America and
the Virtue of Modesty” by Mark D. White, which
explores how modesty and honesty can be
reconciled, especially for someone with
superpowers. The other White essay that I really
enjoyed was “Why Doesn’t Batman Kill the Joker?”
which is an excellent analysis the the issue
from both utilitarian and deontological
perspectives. It even managed to use the Trolley
Problem in a way that didn’t make me want to
throw the Kindle across the room. (For the
record, I consider the Trolley Problem to be one
of the most ridiculous, pointless,
unenlightening thought experiments in ethical
philosophy. I should write an essay on that one
day.)
But for me, the gem of the book was the essay
“Does Peter Parker Have a Good Life?” by Neil
Mussett, which explores the question of the
Meaning of Life in the context of Spider-Man,
using viewpoints from the secular humanist Paul
Kurtz, Objectivist Ayn Rand, Stoic Epictetus,
Psychologist Viktor Frankl and Saint Thomas
Aquinas. It’s a really fabulous read and one of
the best pop culture/philosophy essays I’ve
read, period.
All in all, it was a really fun read. And
best of all, right now it’s free!
