The Simpsons and Philosophy.pdf

The Simpsons and Philosophy

The D'oh! of Homer

Popular Culture and Philosophy, Volume 02

Edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard, and Aeon J. Skoble

a.b.e-book v3.0 / Notes at EOF

(Annotations appear at the end of each essay)

Back Cover:

No less an authority than Homer Simpson himself has declared: "Cartoons don't have any

deep meaning. They're just stupid drawings that give you a cheap laugh."

Don't have a cow, man. Here comes a squadron of erudite scholars with the guts to

challenge even Homer's pessimistic view of his family's historic plight.

Does Homer Simpson really exhibit Aristotelian virtues? Can we learn from Maggie

about the value of silence? Is Bart the kind of individual Nietzsche was trying to warn us about?

How does Lisa illuminate American ambivalence toward intellectuals?

Here we can find out about irony and the meaning of life, the politics of the nuclear

family, Marxism in Springfield, the elusiveness of happiness, popular parody as a form of

tribute, and why we need animated TV shows. As if all that weren't enough, this book actually

contains the worst philosophy essay ever.

Now that we have The Simpsons and Philosophy, we can all rub our hands together and

say, in a slow, sinister, breathy voice: "Excellent. . ."

"Most scholars of mass art hold themselves at a distance from their subject. The authors in this

volume really immerse themselves in The Simpsons , and the result is this absolutely unique

book. Go for it!" -- Professor David Carrier, Carnegie Mellon University

"Bill Irwin and his colleagues have done it again: they have produced a terrific volume. Not only

is The Simpsons and Philosophy highly educational, it enhances the viewing and re-viewing of

the Simpsons episodes, and sheds a new light on the series." -- Professor Per Broman, Butler

University, Indianapolis

"What a great book! The chapters are by turns fun, profound, and instructive. I recommend it to

everyone, whether already a Simpsons fan or not. You'll be surprised at what wisdom lurks in

these pages." -- Tom Morris, Author of If Aristotle Ran General Motors

"The Simpsons and Philosophy is a great place to begin any program in Simpsons studies. A

serious look at a funny subject." -- Mark I. Pinsky, Author of The Gospel According to The

Simpsons

William Irwin, Mark T. Canard, and Aeon J. Skoble all contributed to Seinfeld and

Philosophy (2000), which Irwin edited. Irwin is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at King's

College, Pennsylvania, and author of Intentionalist Interpretation (1999). Dr. Conard has

published scholarly articles on Kant, Nietzsche, and Quentin Tarantino. Dr. Skoble teaches

philosophy at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and has co-edited Political Philosophy:

Essential Selections (1999).

Popular Culture and Philosophy

General Editor: William Irwin

Volume 01

Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing (2000)

Edited by William Irwin

Volume 02

The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer (2001)

Edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard, and Aeon J. Skoble

Volume 03

The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (2002)

Edited by William Irwin

In Preparation:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy (2003)

Edited by James B. South

The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy (2003)

Edited by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson

Woody Allen and Philosophy (2004)

Edited by Mark T. Conard and Aeon J. Skoble

Volume 2 in the series, Popular Culture and Philosophy

To order books from Open Court, call toll free 1-800-815-2280.

Chapter 11 was originally published in Political Theory 27 (1999),

pp. 734-749, and is reprinted here by permission of the author

and Sage Publications, Inc.

Open Court Publishing Company is a division of Carus Publishing Company.

Fourteenth printing 2002

Fifteenth printing 2002

Sixteenth printing 2003

Seventeenth printing 2003

Eighteenth printing 2003

Nineteenth printing 2003

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,

without the prior written permission of the publisher, Open Court

Publishing Company, a division of Carus Publishing Company, 315

Fifth Street, P.O. Box 300, Peru, Illinois, 61354-0300.

Printed and bound in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The Simpsons and philosophy : the d'oh! of Homer /

edited by William Irwin, Mark Conard, and Aeon Skoble.

p. cm. -- (Popular culture and philosophy ; v.2)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-8126-9433-3 (alk. paper)

1. Philosophy -- Miscellanea. 2. Simpsons. (Television program) --

Miscellanea. I. Irwin, William, 1970- II. Conard, Mark, 1965-

III. Skoble, Aeon J. IV Series

B68 .S55 2001

100 -- dc21 00-069897

Dedicated to Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure

(whom you might remember from such TV shows as The Simpsons)

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Meditations on Springfield?

Part I - The Characters

1. Homer and Aristotle

RAJA HALWANI

2. Lisa and American Anti-intellectualism

AEON J. SKOBLE

3. Why Maggie Matters: Sounds of Silence, East and West

ERIC BRONSON

4. Marge's Moral Motivation

GERALD J. ERION and JOSEPH A. ZECCARDI

5. Thus Spake Bart: On Nietzsche and the Virtues of Being Bad

MARK T. CONARD

Part II - Simpsonian Themes

6. The Simpsons and Allusion: "Worst Essay Ever"

WILLIAM IRWIN and J.R. LOMBARDO

7. Popular Parody: The Simpsons Meets the Crime Film

DEBORAH KNIGHT

8. The Simpsons, Hyper-Irony, and the Meaning of Life

CARL MATHESON

9. Simpsonian Sexual Politics

DALE E. SNOW and JAMES J. SNOW

Part III - I Didn't Do It: Ethics and The Simpsons

10. The Moral World of the Simpson Family: A Kantian Perspective

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