Kowalski The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Aristotle, Locke
1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-1-118-23641-3
Verlag: John Wiley & Sons
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 288 Seiten, E-Book

Reihe: The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series

A lighthearted meditation on the philosophical quandaries of thehit television show The Big Bang Theory
Ever wonder what Aristotle might say about the life SheldonCooper leads? Why Thomas Hobbes would applaud the roommateagreement? Who Immanuel Kant would treat with "haughty derision"for weaving "un-unravelable webs?" And--mostimportantly--whether Wil Wheaton is truly evil? Ofcourse you have. Bazinga!
This book mines the deep thinking of some of history's mostpotent philosophical minds to explore your most pressing questionsabout The Big Bang Theory and its nerdy genius characters.You might find other philosophy books on science and cosmology, butonly this one refers to Darth Vader Force-chokes, cloning LeonardNimoy, and oompa-loompa-like engineers. Fo-shizzle.
* Gives you irresistibly geek-worthy insights on your favoriteBig Bang Theory characters, story lines, and ideas
* Examines important themes involving ethics and virtue, science,semiotics, religion, and the human condition
* Brings the thinking of some of the world's greatestphilosophers to bear on The Big Bang Theory, from Aristotleand Plato to Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Simone de Beauvoir, andmore
Essential reading for every Big Bang Theory fan, thisbook explores whether comic-book-wielding geeks can lead the goodlife, and whether they can know enough science to "tear the maskoff nature and stare at the face of God."

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kowalski, Dean

Kowalski, Dean A.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Irwin, William

Inhaltsverzeichnis

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
INTRODUCTION: "Unraveling the Mysteries" 1
PART ONE "IT ALL BEGAN ON A WARM SUMMER'S EVENINGIN GREECE": ARISTOTELIAN INSIGHTS
1 Aristotle on Sheldon Cooper: Ancient Greek Meets Modern Geek7
Greg Littmann
2 "You're a Sucky, Sucky Friend": SeekingAristotelian Friendship in The Big Bang Theory 21
Dean A. Kowalski
3 The Big Bang Theory on the Use and Abuse of Modern Technology35
Kenneth Wayne Sayles III
PART TWO "IS IT WRONG TO SAY I LOVE OUR KILLERROBOT?": ETHICS AND VIRTUE
4 Feeling Bad about Feeling Good: Is It Morally Wrong to Laughat Sheldon? 51
W. Scott Clifton
5 . . . But Is Wil Wheaton Evil? 65
Donna Marie Smith
6 Do We Need a Roommate Agreement?: Pleasure, Selfi shness, andVirtue in The Big Bang Theory 80
Gregory L. Bock and Jeffrey L. Bock
PART THREE "PERHAPS YOU MEAN A DIFFERENT THINGTHAN I DO WHEN YOU SAY 'SCIENCE'": SCIENCE,SCIENTISM, AND RELIGION
7 Getting Fundamental about Doing Physics in The Big Bang Theory99
Jonathan Lawhead
8 Sheldon, Leonard, and Leslie: The Three Faces of QuantumGravity 112
Andrew Zimmerman Jones
9 The One Paradigm to Rule Them All: Scientism and The Big BangTheory 128
Massimo Pigliucci
10 Cooper Considerations: Science, Religion, and Family144
Adam Barkman and Dean A. Kowalski
PART FOUR "I NEED YOUR OPINION ON A MATTER OFSEMIOTICS": LANGUAGE AND MEANING
11 Wittgenstein and Language Games in The Big Bang Theory161
Janelle Pötzsch
12 "I'm Afraid You Couldn't Be MoreWrong!": Sheldon and Being Right about Being Wrong 175
Adolfas Mackonis
13 The Cooper Conundrum: Good Lord, Who's Tolerating Whom?189
Ruth E. Lowe
14 The Mendacity Bifurcation 203
Don Fallis
PART FIVE "THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE THAT HAS ALWAYS ELUDEDME": THE HUMAN CONDITION
15 Mothers and Sons of The Big Bang Theory 219
Ashley Barkman
16 Penny, Sheldon, and Personal Growth through Difference233
Nicholas G. Evans
17 Deconstructing the Women of The Big Bang Theory: So Much MoreThan Girlfriends 244
Mark D. White and Maryanne L. Fisher
THE EPISODE COMPENDIUM: "Hey, It's a BigMenu--There's Two Pages Just for Desserts" 257
CONTRIBUTORS: "But If We Were Part of the Team . . . WeCould Drink for Free in Any Bar in Any College Town" 261
INDEX: "Cornucopia . . . Let's Make That Our Word ofthe Day" 267

Über Autor(innen)

Dean A. Kowalski is an associate professor of philosophy at University of Wisconsin-Waukesha and the author of five books, most recently Moral Theory at the Movies and The Philosophy of Joss Whedon.
William Irwin is a professor of philosophy at King's College, in Wilkes-Barre, 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 Inception and Philosophy.