The Philosopher at the End of the Universe Philosophy Explained Through Science Fiction Films

by Rowlands, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780312322342
• ISBN10: 0312322348
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-08-01
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Summary

The Philosopher at the End of the Universe Philosophy Explained Through Science Fiction Films Mark Rowlands This provocative, thought-provoking, and thoroughly entertaining guide explains the basics of philosophy-as seen through today's blockbuster movies nyone can grasp the essential concepts of philosophy while still holding a bucket of popcorn. Mark Rowlands makes philosophy utterly relevant to our everyday lives and reveals its most potent messages using nothing more than a little humor and the plot lines of some of the most spectacular, expensive, high-octane films on the planet. Learn about: - The Nature of Reality from The Matrix - Good and Evil from Star Wars - Morality from Aliens - Personal Identity from Total Recall - The Mind-Body Dilemma from Terminator - Free Will from Minority Report - Death and the Meaning of Life from Blade Runner - And much more. If Keanu Reeves can understand Descartes surely anyone can. 'Hugely entertaining....Rowlands knows his stuff and marries some of the tougher philosophical arguments to the more accessible conduit of popular entertainment....enjoyable and illuminating.' -Waterstone's Books Quarterly [UK] Mark Rowlands is a philosopher, author, and university professor living in Cork, Ireland. Philosophy 0-312-32234-8 $23.95 $34.95 Canadian 51/2" x 81/4" / 288 pages Thomas Dunne Books August

Author Biography

Mark Rowlands received a Ph.D. in philosophy from Oxford and then went to work in the United States for seven years teaching philosophy. Victim of too many parties, he decided to move to Ireland to do nothing except write philosophy and surf. Seven years later he moved to Devon, where he currently works as the director of the Centre for Philosophical Social Sciences at the University of Exeter. He is the author of seven previous philosophy books including The Body in Mind, The Nature of Consciousness, and Animals Like Us.

Table of Contents

Frankenstein : philosophy and the meaning of life	p. 1
The Matrix : can we be certain of anything?	p. 27
Terminator I & II : the mind-body problem	p. 57
Total recall & the sixth day : the problem of personal identity	p. 67
Minority report : the problem of free will	p. 121
Hollow man : why be moral?	p. 155
Independence day & aliens : the scope of morality	p. 179
Star wars : good and evil	p. 209
Blade runner : death and the meaning of life	p. 239
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