Christmas - Philosophy for Everyone Better Than a Lump of Coal

by Allhoff, Fritz; Lowe, Scott C.; Nissenbaum, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9781444330908
• ISBN10: 144433090X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-09-20
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

From Santa, elves and Ebenezer Scrooge, to the culture wars and virgin birth, Christmas - Philosophy for Everyone explores a host of philosophical issues raised by the practices and beliefs surrounding Christmas. Offers thoughtful and humorous philosophical insights into the most widely celebrated holiday in the Western world Contributions come from a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, theology, religious studies, English literature, cognitive science and moral psychology The essays cover a wide range of Christmas themes, from a defence of the miracle of the virgin birth to the relevance of Christmas to atheists and pagans

Author Biography

Scott C. Lowe is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Fritzallhoff is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Western Michigan University, as well as a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University's Center for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Joining the Manger to the Sleigh?	p. x
Introduction	p. 1
Christmas: In the Beginning	p. 9
Jesus, Mary, and Hume: On the Possibility of the Virgin Birth	p. 11
The Virgin Birth: Authentic Christmas Magic	p. 24
Putting the "Yule" Back in "Yuletide"	p. 36
Is Celebrating Christmas Really a Good Idea?	p. 47
Armed for the War on Christmas	p. 49
Christmas Mythologies: Sacred and Secular	p. 59
The Significance of Christmas for Liberal Multiculturalism	p. 70
Crummy Commercials and BB Guns: Son-of-a-Bitch Consumerism in a Christmas Classic	p. 80
Santa: A Deeper Look	p. 91
The Mind of Santa Claus and the Metaphors He Lives By	p. 93
Making a List, Checking It Twice: The Santa Claus Surveillance System	p. 104
You'd Better Watch Out...	p. 114
Santa's Sweatshop: Elf Exploitation for Christmas	p. 125
The Morality of Christmas	p. 137
Against the Santa Claus Lie: The Truth We Should Tell Our Children	p. 139
Lying to Children about Santa: Why It's Just Not Wrong	p. 151
Putting Claus Back into Christmas	p. 161
Scrooge Learns it All in One Night: Happiness and the Virtues of Christmas	p. 172
Christmas Through Others' Eyes	p. 183
Holly Jolly Atheists: A Naturalistic Justification for Christmas	p. 185
Heaven, Hecate, and Hallmark: Christmas in Hindsight	p. 197
Festivus and the Need for Seasonal Absurdity	p. 208
Common Claus: Santa as Cross-Cultural Connection	p. 219
Afterword	p. 231
Notes on Contributors	p. 234
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