Spider-Man and Philosophy: The Web of Inquiry

239 Pages·2012·1.31 MB·English

by  Jonathan J. Sanford

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: The Spectacular Life of Spider-Man?
Chapter 1: Does Peter Parker have a Good Life?
Paul Kurtz—A Life of Pleasure and Care for Others
Ayn Rand—Life and Integrity
Epictetus—Self-Control, Duty, and Knowledge of the World
Viktor Frankl—Meaning and Sacrifice
Thomas Aquinas—God and Virtue
What Next?
Chapter 2: What Price Atonement?
Death and Taxes
Ethics and the Infinite
Every Other is Wholly Other
Remaining in Debt
Chapter 3: “My Name is Peter Parker”
To Unmask or Not to Unmask
The Irresistible Iron Man
But on the Other Hand . . .
The Tangled Web that is Consequentialism
Oops!
Remember the Kingpin?
Give Up? Never!
Part Two: Responsibility-Man
Chapter 4: “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”
“I Have Called You Friends”: The Christian Answer to
Why People were Created
“Can’t You Respect Me Enough to Let Me Make My Own
Decisions?”: The Foundations of Christian Ethics
“We Always Have a Choice”: The Solution to the Problem
of Evil
Dealing with Venom: How to Perfect or Pervert Justice
“It’s the Choices that Make us Who We are:” The
Conclusion to the Matter
Chapter 5: Does Great Power Bring Great Responsibility?
Responsibility Does as Responsibility is
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Does Whatever a Samaritan can
Your Friendly Neighborhood Samaritan
The Do’s and Don’ts of Duties
Unmasking the Bad Samaritan
Spider-Man: Hero or Menace?
How Great is that?
Chapter 6: With Great Power Comes Great Culpability
Peter Parker’s Good and Bad Luck
The Web of Moral Luck
The Two Peter Parkers
The Problem with Moral Luck
Peter Parker: Agent of Regret
Aunt May’s Dark Secret
Power and Responsibility
Part Three: Spider-Sense and the Self
Chapter 7: Why is My Spider-Sense Tingling?
Getting the Sense of Things, Directly
What Danger Looks Like
The Relative Nature of Danger
Is it Really Dangerous?
When the Spider-Sense Fails
Spider-Sense, Spider-Judgment, or Both?
Did We Learn Anything?
Chapter 8: Red or Black
A Hero Transformed
Selves Transformed
The Transforming Self
Chapter 9: With Great Power
Changing the World
Transformation, Virtue, and Vice
Great Responsibility
A Story about a Girl
Part Four: Arachnids “R” Us: Technology and the
Human, all too Human
Chapter 10: Transhumanism
Enhancement Anxieties
Like a God among Men
A Lucky Guy
A Strange Liberation Movement
Equality and Biology
Enhancing People and Creating Monsters
Creating MJ’s Smile
Chapter 11: Maximum Clonage
Gwen Stacy is Alive . . . and, Well . . . ?!
The Shattering Secret of Cloning
The Game of Life—What the Saga Gets Wrong (and Right)
about Cloning
The Worth of a Clone
Game’s End
Part Five: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Chapter 12: Justice versus Romantic Love
The Primacy of Justice
The Primacy of the Romantic
Romantic Justice or Just Romantic
Chapter 13: Love, Friendship, and Being Spider-Man
A Fine Fellow
Sacrificial Love
MJ Hearts Spider-Man
Some Friend You are! You Stole My Girl! Killed My
Father!
Sacrificing Superheroes
Chapter 14: Spidey’s Tangled Web of Obligations
Spinning a Web of Deceit
The Alien Symbiote—Not Your Typical Pile of Dirty
Laundry
Here Come the Bad Guys!
Fighting Friends Gone Bad
Lending a Hand—Or Some Webbing
Part Six: The Amazing Speaking Spider: Jokes,
Stories, and the Choices We Make
Chapter 15: The Quipslinger
What’s so Funny, Webhead?
Joke’s on You, Bad Guy!
Professor Spidey and the Bad Guys
Spidey Corrects Heroes
The Punch Line
Chapter 16: The Sound and the Fury behind “One More Day”
Do We Lack Character?
Enough about Normal People—What about Superheroes?
So, Who’s Responsible for this Outrage?
Secret Interpretation
What if You had One More Day?
Chapter 17: Spider-Man and the Importance of Getting Your Story
Straight
Do We Always have a Choice?
What Storytelling is all about
Not Every Action that Glitters is Virtuous
The Virtue of Spider-Man’s Story
Contributors
Index
The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series
Series Editor: William Irwin
South Park and Philosophy
Edited by Robert Arp
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Edited by William Irwin
Family Guy and Philosophy
Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski
The Daily Show and Philosophy
Edited by Jason Holt
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Edited by Sharon Kaye
24 and Philosophy
Edited by Jennifer Hart Weed, Richard Davis, and Ronald Weed
Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy
Edited by Jason T. Eberl
The Office and Philosophy
Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski
Batman and Philosophy
Edited by Mark D. White and Robert Arp
House and Philosophy
Edited by Henry Jacoby
Watchmen and Philosophy
Edited by Mark D. White
X-Men and Philosophy
Edited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski
Terminator and Philosophy
Edited by Richard Brown and Kevin Decker
Heroes and Philosophy
Edited by David Kyle Johnson
Twilight and Philosophy
Edited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski
Final Fantasy and Philosophy
Edited by Jason P. Blahuta and Michel S. Beaulieu
Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy
Edited by Richard Brian Davis
Iron Man and Philosophy
Edited by Mark D. White
True Blood and Philosophy
Edited by George Dunn and Rebecca Housel
Mad Men and Philosophy
Edited by James South and Rod Carveth
30 Rock and Philosophy
Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski
The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy
Edited by Gregory Bassham
The Ultimate Lost and Philosophy
Edited by Sharon Kaye
Green Lantern and Philosophy
Edited by Jane Dryden and Mark D. White
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy
Edited by Eric Bronson
Arrested Development and Philosophy
Edited by Kristopher Phillips and J. Jeremy Wisnewski
Inception and Philosophy
Edited by David Johnson
The Big Lebowski and Philosophy
Edited by Peter S. Fosl

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