Watchmen and Philosophy A Rorschach Test

by Irwin, William; White, Mark D.

• ISBN13: 9780470396858
• ISBN10: 0470396857
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-20
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Alan Moore's Watchmen is set in 1985 and chronicles the alternative history of the United States where the US edges dangerously closer to nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Within this world exists a group of crime busters, who don elaborate costumes to conceal their identity and fight crime, and an intricate plot to kill and discredit these "superheroes." Alan Moore's Watchmen popularized the graphic novel format, has been named one of Time magazine's top 100 novels, and is now being made into a highly anticipated movie adaptation. This latest book in the popular Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series peers into Moore's deeply philosophical work to parse and deconstruct the ethical issues raised by Watchmen's costumed adventurers, their actions, and their world. From nuclear destruction to utopia, from governmental authority to human morality and social responsibility, it answers questions fans have had for years about Watchmen's ethical quandaries, themes, and characters.

Author Biography

Mark D. White is an asso-ciate professor in the Department of Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY and coeditor of Batman and Philosophy.

William Irwin is a professor of philosophy at King's College. He coedited the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and edited Seinfeld and Philosophy, The Matrix and Philosophy, and Metallica and Philosophy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments: They Left It Entirely in My Hands	p. ix
Introduction: A Rorschach Test	p. 1
The Politics of Power: Who Watches The Watchmen?
The Superman Exists, and He's American: Morality in the Face of Absolute Power	p. 5
Can We Steer This Rudderless World? Kant, Rorschach, Retributivism, and Honor	p. 19
Super-Vigilantes and the Keene Act	p. 33
Superheroes and Supermen: Finding Nietzsche's Ubermensch in Watchmen	p. 47
The Veidt Plan: Watchmen and Ethics
Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes	p. 63
The Virtues of Nite Owl's Potbelly	p. 79
Rorschach: When Telling the Truth Is Wrong	p. 91
The Metaphysics of Dr. Manhattan
Dr. Manhattan, I Presume?	p. 103
A Timely Encounter: Dr. Manhattan and Henri Bergson	p. 115
Free Will and Foreknowledge: Does Jon Really Know What Laurie Will Do Next, and Can She Do Otherwise?	p. 125
I'm Just a Puppet Who Can See the Strings: Dr. Manhattan as a Stoic Sage	p. 137
This is Not Your Father's Comic Book
"Why Don't You Go Read a Book or Something?" Watchmen as Literature	p. 157
Watchwomen	p. 173
Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis: The Ambiguously Gay Duo	p. 185
What's So Goddamned Funny? The Comedian and Rorschach on Life's Way	p. 197
Contributors: Who Writes about the Watchmen?	p. 215
Index: After the Masquerade	p. 221
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