Go beyond the cape and into the mind of the Man of Steel, in time for release of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel movie and Superman's 75th anniversary He has thrilled millions for 75 years, with a legacy that transcends national, cultural, and generational borders, but is there more to the Man of Steel than just your average mythic superhero in a cape? The 20 chapters in this book present a fascinating exploration of some of the deeper philosophical questions raised by Superman, the Last Son of Krypton and the newest hero in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture arsenal.
Table of Contents:
Introduction: It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane … It’s Philosophy! 1 Part One The Big Blue Boy Scout: Ethics, Judgment, and Reason 3
1 Moral Judgment: The Power That Makes Superman Human 5
Mark D. White
2 Action Comics! Superman and Practical Reason 16
Brian Feltham
3 Can the Man of Tomorrow Be the Journalist of Today? 26
Jason Southworth and Ruth Tallman
4 Could Superman Have Joined the Third Reich? The Importance and Shortcomings of Moral Upbringing 37
Robert Sharp
Part Two Truth, Justice, and the American Way: What Do They Mean? 47
5 Clark Kent Is Superman! The Ethics of Secrecy 49
Daniel P. Malloy
6 Superman and Justice 61
Christopher Robichaud
7 Is Superman an American Icon? 71
Andrew Terjesen
Part Three The Will to Superpower: Nietzsche, the Übermensch, and Existentialism 83
8 Rediscovering Nietzsche’s Übermensch in Superman as a Heroic Ideal 85
Arno Bogaerts
9 Superman or Last Man: The Ethics of Superpower 101
David Gadon
10 Superman: From Anti-Christ to Christ-Type 111
Adam Barkman
11 Superman Must Be Destroyed! Lex Luthor as Existentialist Anti-Hero 121
Sarah K. Donovan and Nicholas Richardson
Part Four The Ultimate Hero: What Do We Expect from Superman? 131
12 Superman’s Revelation: The Problem of Violence in Kingdom Come 133
David Hatfield
13 A World Without a Clark Kent? 145
Randall M. Jensen
14 The Weight of the World: How Much Is Superman Morally Responsible For? 157
Audrey L. Anton
Part Five Superman and Humanity: A Match Made on Krypton? 169
15 Superman and Man: What a Kryptonian Can Teach Us About Humanity 171
Leonard Finkelman
16 Can the Man of Steel Feel Our Pain? Sympathy and Superman 181
Andrew Terjesen
17 World’s Finest Philosophers: Superman and Batman on Human Nature 194
Carsten Fogh Nielsen
Part Six Of Superman and Superminds: Who Is Superman, Anyway? 205
18 “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s … Clark Kent?” Superman and the Problem of Identity 207
Nicolas Michaud
19 Superman Family Resemblance 217
Dennis Knepp
20 Why Superman Should Not Be Able to Read Minds 225
Mahesh Ananth
Contributors: Trapped in the Philosophy Zone 237
Index: From Brainiac’s Files 243
About the Author :
Mark D. White is chair of the Department of Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, where he teaches courses in economics, philosophy, and law. He has edited and coedited many books in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, including Batman and Philosophy, Watchmen and Philosophy, Iron Man and Philosophy, and The Avengers and Philosophy.
William Irwin is Professor of Philosophy at King’s College in Pennsylvania. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including House and Philosophy, Batman and Philosophy, and Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy.
Review :
"As can be noted from my comments above, any book that will make you think or react makes for an interesting read and ‘Superman And Philosophy’ succeeds in doing that. One should always be glad that Superman sees himself as the good scout otherwise the DC Earth would truly be hell." (SFCrowsnest.org.uk, 1 June 2013)
“And this delightfully appealing tome does exactly that…” (Comics Review, 25 April 2013)
