Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul

by Series Editor: William Irwin (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania ); Editor: Mark D. White; Editor: Robert Arp

• ISBN13: 9780470532775
• ISBN10: 0470532777
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2009-04-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Why doesn't Batman just kill the Joker and end everyone's misery? Can we hold the Joker morally responsible for his actions? Is Batman better than Superman? If everyone followed Batman's example, would Gotham be a better place? What is the Tao of the Bat? Batman is one of the most complex characters ever to appear in comic books, graphic novels, and on the big screen. What philosophical trials does this superhero confront in order to keep Gotham safe? Combing through seventy years of comic books, television shows, and movies, Batman and Philosophy explores how the Dark Knight grapples with ethical conundrums, moral responsibility, his identity crisis, the moral weight he carries to avenge his murdered parents, and much more. How does this caped crusader measure up against the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Kierkegaard, and Lao Tzu?

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments: The Oscar Speech George Clooney Never Got to Make

Introduction: Riddle Me This..

Does the Dark Knight Always Do Right?

Why Doesn't Batman Kill the Joker

Is It Right to Make a Robin

Batman's Virtuous Hatred

Law, Justice, and the Social Order: Where Does Batman Fit In?

No Man's Land: Social Order in Gotham City and New Orleans

Governing Gotham

The Joker's Wild: Can We Hold the Clown Prince Morally Responsible

Origins and Ethics: Becoming The Caped Crusader.

Batman's Promise

Should Bruce Wayne Have Become Batman

What Would Batman Do? Bruce Wayne as Moral Exemplar

Who is the Batman? (Is That a Trick Question?)

Under the mask: How Any Person Can Become Batman

Could Batman Have Been the Joker

Batman's Identity Crisis and Wittgenstein's Family Resemblance

What Is It Like to Be a Batman

Being The Vat: Insights From Existentialism and Taoism.

Alfred, the Dark Knight of Faith: Batman and Kierkegaard

Dark Nights and the Call of conscience

Batman's Confrontation with Death, Angst, and Freedom

Friend,Father... Rival? The Many Roles of the Bat.

Why Batman IS Better than Superman

World's Finest...Friends? Batman, Superman, and the Nature of Friendship

Leaving the Shadow of the Bat: Aristotle, Kant, and Dick Grayson on Moral Education

The Tao of the Bat

Contributors

Index

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