The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer

The Simpsons is one of the most literary and intelligent comedies on television today— fertile ground for questions such Does Nietzsche justify Bart's bad behavior? Is hypocrisy always unethical? What is Lisa's conception of the Good?From the editor of and contributors to the widely-praised Seinfeld and Philosophy, The Simpsons and Philosophy is an insightful and humorous look at the philosophical tenets of America's favorite animated family that will delight Simpsons fans and philosophy aficionados alike. Twenty-one philosophers and academics discuss and debate the absurd, hyper-ironic, strangely familiar world that is Springfield, the town without a state.In exploring the thought of key philosophers including Aristotle, Marx, Camus, Sartre, Heidegger, and Kant through episode plots and the characters' antics, the contributors tackle issues like irony and the meaning of life, American anti-intellectualism, and existential rebellion. The volume also includes an episode guide and a chronology of philosophers which lists the names and dates of the major thinkers in the history of philosophy, accompanied by a representative quote from each.Contents:• "Homer and Aristotle," by Raja Halwani• "Lisa and American Anti-intellectualism," by Aeon J. Skoble• "Why Maggie Matters: Sounds of Silence, East and West," by Eric Bronson• "Marge's Moral Motivation," byGerald J. Erion and Joseph A. Zeccardi• "Thus Spake Bart: On Neitzsche and the Virtues of Being Bad," by Mark T. Conard• "The Simpsons and Allusion: 'Worst Essay Ever'," by Willima Irwin and J.R. Lombardo• "Popular Parody: The Simpsons Meets the Crime Film," by Deborah Knight• "The Simpsons, Hyper-Irony, and the Meaning of Life," by Carl Matheson• "Simsexual Politics," by Dale E. Snow and James J. Snow• "The Moral World of the Simpson Family: A Kantian Perspective," by James Lawler• "The Simpsons: Atomistic Politics and the Nuclear Family," by Paul A. Cantor• "Springfield Hypocrisy," by Jason Holt• "Enjoying the So-Called 'Iced Cream': Mr. Burns, Satan and Happiness," by Daniel Barwick• "Hey-Diddily-Ho, Neighboreenos: Ned Flanders and Neighborly Love," by David Vessey• "The Function of Fiction: The Heuristic Value of Homer," by Jennifer L. McMahon• "A (Karl, not Groucho) Marxist in Springfield," by James M. Wallace• "'And the Rest Writes Itself': Roland Barthes Watches The Simpsons," by David L.G. Arnold• "What Bart Calls Thinking," by Kelly Dean Jolley