Title List: Popular Culture and Philosophy

This is not the first time  I’ve plugged (free of charge) the Popular Culture and Philosophy series of books by Open Court Press, but they are just so much fun that I can’t resist listing all the titles (and subtitles–which often involve puns). I wish there was a series of theology and popular culture books that was this well done and  this much fun.  Some of the authors of the chapters in these books are Christian, but many aren’t.  Good stuff.

1. Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book About Everything and Nothing. (2000). Ed. by William Irwin.
2. The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer. (2001).  Ed. by William Irwin, Mark Conard, and Aeon Skoble.  (This is my favorite to date.)
3. The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real. (2002). Ed. by William Irwin.
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy:  Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale (2003). Ed. James B. South.
5. The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All. (2003). Ed. by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson.
6. Baseball and  Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter’s Box (2004). Ed. by Eric Bronson.
7. The Sopranos and Philosophy: I Kill, Therefore I Am. (2004). Ed. by Richard Greene and Peter Venezze.
8. Woody Allen and Philosophy: You Mean My Whole Fallacy is Wrong?  (2004). Ed. Mark T. Conard and Aeon J. Skoble.
9. Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts (2004), Ed. David Baggett and Shawn Klein.
10. Mel Gibson’s “Passion” and Philosophy: The Cross, the Questions, the Controversy (2004)., Ed. Jorge J. E. Garcia.  (I hated this film, which I saw to review, so much that I haven’t yet read this volume.)
11. More Matrix and Philosophy: Revolutions and Reloaded Decoded (2005). Ed. William Irwin.
12. Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful Than You Can Imagine (2005). Ed. Kevin S. Decker and Jason T. Eberl.
13. Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way(2005). Ed. Tom Morris and Matt Morris.
14. The Adkins Diet and Philosophy:  Chewing the Fat with Kant and Nietsche (2005). Ed. Lisa Heldke, Keri Mommer, and Cynthia Pineo.
15. The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: The Lion, The Witch, and the Worldview (2005). Ed. Gregory Bassham and Jerry L. Walls.
16. Hip Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason (2005). Ed. by Derrick Darby and Tommie Shelby. Foreword by Cornel West.
17. Bob Dylan and Philosophy: It’s All Right, Ma (I’m Only Thinkin’) (2006). Ed. Carl Porter and Peter Venezze.
18. Harley-Davidson and Philosophy: Full Throttle Aristotle (2006). Ed. Bernard E. Rollin, Carolyne M. Gray, Keri Mommer, and Cynthia Pineo.
19. Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge, Nudge, Think, Think! (2006). Ed. Gerry R. Hardcastle and Geoorge A. Reich.
20. Poker and Philosophy: Pocket Rockets and Philosopher Kings (2006), Ed. Eric Bronson.
21. U-2 and Philosophy: How to Decipher an Atomic Band (2006). Ed. by Mark A. Wrathall.
22. The Undead and Philosophy: Chicken Soup for the Soulless (2006). Ed. by Richard Green and K. Silem Muhammad.
23. James Bond and Philosophy:  Questions Are Forever (2006). Ed. by James B. South and Jacob M. Held.
24. Bullshit  and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Get Perfect Results Every Time (2006). Ed. by Gary L. Hardcastle and George A. Reisch.
25. The Beatles and Philosophy: Nothing You Can Think That Can’t Be Thunk (2006). Ed. by Michael Bauer and Stephen Bauer.
26. South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating (2007). Ed. by Richard Hanley.
27. Hitchcock and Philosophy:  Dial M for Metaphysics. (2007). Ed. by David Baggett  and William A. Drumin.
28. The Grateful Dead and Philosophy: Getting High Minded About Love and Haight (2007). Ed. by Stephen Gimbel.
29. Quentin Tarantino and Philosophy: How to Philosophize with a Pair of Pliers and a Blowtorch (2007). Ed. by Richard Greene and K. Silem Muhammad.
30. Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful With That Axion, Eugene! (2007). Ed. by George A. Reisch.
31. Johnny Cash and Philosophy: The Burning Ring of Truth (2008). Ed. by John Huss and David Werther.
32. Bruce Springsteen  and Philosophy:  Darkness on the Edge of Truth (2008). Ed. by Randall E. Auxier and Doug Anderson.
33. Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Mission Accomplished or Mission Frakked Up? (2008). Ed. by Josef Steiff and Tristan D. Tamplin. (The revamped series was one of the few works of popular culture in America asking hard questions about the so-called “Global War on Terrorism,” and doing so with great science fiction.)
34. iPod and Philosophy: iCon of an ePoch (2008). Ed. by D. E. Wittkower.
35. Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant (2008). Ed. by Jason T. Eberl and Kevin S. Drecker. (I can’t wait to read this one.)
36. The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link, Therefore I Am (2008). Ed. by Luke Cuddy.
37. The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy: The Wicked Wisdom of the West (2008). Ed. by Randall Auxier and Phil Seng.
38. Radiohead and Philosophy: Fitter, Happier, and More Productive (2009). Ed. by Brandon W. Forbes and George A. Reisch.
39. Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy: The Porpoise Driven Life (2009). Ed. by Erin McKenna and Scott L. Pratt. (OK, I love Jimmy Buffett, but I can’t stand Rick Warren and that is the WORST pun I have ever seen.)
40. Transformers and Philosophy: More Than Meets the Mind (2009). Ed. by John R. Shook and Liz Stillwaggon Swan.
41. Stephen Colbert and Philosophy: I Am Philosophy (And So Can You) (2009). Ed. by Aaron Allen Schiller.
42. Supervillains and Philosophy: Sometimes, Evil Is Its Own Reward (2009). Ed. Ben Dyer.

Forthcoming in 2009: These works do not yet have sub-titles.

• 43.  The Golden Compass and Philosophy Ed. by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison.
• 44. Led Zeppelin and Philosophy Ed. by Scott Calef.
• 45. World of Warcraft and Philosophy Ed. by Luke Cuddy and John Nordlinger.

Forthcoming Titles for 2010 and Beyond:  These works have not yet been assigned editors and authors, but have been approved as topics for the series.

• Anime/Manga and Philosophy.
• Soccer and Philosophy.
• The Rolling Stones and Philosophy.
• Martial Arts and Philosophy.
• Twilight and Philosophy.
• Monk and Philosophy.  (I’m going to assume that is about fictional detective Adrian Monk and not about the resident of a monastery.)
• Doctor Who and Philosophy.
• The Boston Red Sox and Philosophy.
• Facebook and Philosophy.
• Futurama and Philosophy.
• The Onion and Philosophy. (Most humorous fake news website ever.)
• Rush and Philosophy. (I’ll pass.)
• Breaking Bad and Philosophy.
• The Dark Tower and Philosophy. (I would have thought Stephen King as a whole would have rated a work, not just his fantasy series.)
• Dune and Philosophy.
• Neil Gaiman and Philosophy. (Who?).

You can suggest other titles at the website of Open Court Press.  Be prepared to argue the case.  I, personally, have suggested volumes on Mo’Town, Ray Charles, Bruce Lee (I think Lee  himself impacted the culture and raised philosophical questions beyond just  martial arts), and Columbo.