Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul (Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture)

Being a crime fighting superhero is a tough job and it comes with no shortage of social and moral responsibilities.  Why doesn’t Batman just kill the Joker once and for all?  If killing the Joker would mean saving thousands of innocent lives, why is this decision so difficult for Batman?  Weighing the morality between right and wrong is just the tip of the iceberg in this fascinating and penetrating look at America’s favorite caped crusader. 

Batman and Philosophyparses the answers to questions about Batman’s secret identity, his confrontation with death and angst, the weighty conscience of the Bat, the social order in Gotham City, and the eternal question: What Would Batman Do?

Batman has grown from a comic book character into a franchise and merchandise goliath, spinning off live action and animated TV shows, Hollywood blockbusters, videogames, action figures, and an endless array of merchandising. Timed to publish with the release of the new Batman movie in 2008, Batman and Philosophytakes a deeper look at the famous caped crusader, offering entertaining answers to the fascinating ethical questions everyone has always had about the man behind the mask.

In these 20 essays philosophers weigh the content and intent of Batman's many iterations in comic books, graphic novels, and mass media iterations against Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Kierkegaard and Lao Tzu. With tongue only partly in cheek the contributors examine whether the Dark Knight always does right and the sources of his virtuous hatred, where he fits within the social order, and whether his origins form the majority of his identity. They ask whether the Joker is morally responsible and whether Wayne is a moral exemplar, the tao behind Batman, and the existentialism that seems to follow rather than lead him. The result is rich and rigorous as well as very entertaining and would serve well as a classroom reader. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Why doesn't Batman just kill the Joker and end everyone's misery?

Can we hold the Joker morally responsible for his actions?

Is Batman better than Superman?

If everyone followed Batman's example,

would Gotham be a better place?

What is the Tao of the Bat?

Batman is one of the most complex characters ever to appear in comic books, graphic novels, and on the big screen. What philosophical trials does this superhero confront in order to keep Gotham safe? Combing through seventy years of comic books, television shows, and movies, Batman and Philosophy explores how the Dark Knight grapples with ethical conundrums, moral responsibility, his identity crisis, the moral weight he carries to avenge his murdered parents, and much more. How does this caped crusader measure up against the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Kierkegaard, and Lao Tzu?

Why doesn't Batman just kill the Joker and end everyone's misery?

Can we hold the Joker morally responsible for his actions?

Is Batman better than Superman?

If everyone followed Batman's example, would Gotham be a better place?

What is the Tao of the Bat?

Batman is one of the most complex characters ever to appear in comic books, graphic novels, and on the big screen. What philosophical trials does this superhero confront in order to keep Gotham safe? Combing through seventy years of comic books, television shows, and movies, Batman and Philosophy explores how the Dark Knight grapples with ethical conundrums, moral responsibility, his identity crisis, the moral weight he carries to avenge his murdered parents, and much more. How does this caped crusader measure up against the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Kierkegaard, and Lao Tzu?

Mark D. White is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY.

Robert Arp is a postdoctoral research associate through the National Center for Biomedical Ontology at the University at Buffalo, and edited South Park and Philosophy.

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

Acknowledgments: The Oscar Speech George Clooney Never Got to Make.

Introduction: Riddle Me This...

Part One: Does the Dark Knight Always Do Right?

1. Why Doesn't Batman Kill the Joker (Mark D. White)?

2. Is It Right to Make a Robin (James DiGiovanna)?

3. Batman's Virtuous Hatred (Stephen Kershnar).

Part Two: Law, Justice, and the Social Order: Where Does Batman Fit In?

4. No Man's Land: Social Order in Gotham City and New Orleans (Brett Chandler Patterson).

5. Governing Gotham (Tony Spanakos).

6. The Joker's Wild: Can We Hold the Clown Prince Morally Responsible (Christopher Robichaud).

Part Three: Origins and Ethics: Becoming The Caped Crusader.

7. Batman's Promise (Randall M. Jensen).

8. Should Bruce Wayne Have Become Batman (Mahesh Ananth and Ben Dixon)?

9. What Would Batman Do? Bruce Wayne as Moral Exemplar (Ryan Indy Rhodes and David Kyle Johnson).

Part Four: Who is the Batman? (Is That a Trick Question?)

10. Under the mask: How Any Person Can Become Batman (Sarah KI. Donovan and Nicholas P. Richardson).

11. Could Batman Have Been the Joker (Sam Cowling and Chris Ragg)?

12. Batman's Identity Crisis and Wittgenstein's Family Resemblance (Jason Southworth).

13. What Is It Like to Be a Batman (Ron Novy)?

Part Five: Being The Vat: Insights From Existentialism and Taoism.

14. Alfred, the Dark Knight of Faith: Batman and Kierkegaard (Christopher M. Drohan).

15. Dark Nights and the Call of conscience (Jason J. Howard).

16. Batman's Confrontation with Death, Angst, and Freedom (David M. Hart).

Part Six: Friend,Father... Rival? The Many Roles of the Bat.

17. Why Batman IS Better than Superman (Galen Foresman).

18. World's Finest...Friends? Batman, Superman, and the Nature of Friendship (Daniel P. Malloy).

19. Leaving the Shadow of the Bat: Aristotle, Kant, and Dick Grayson on Moral Education (Carsten Fogh Nielsen).

20. The Tao of the Bat (Bat-Tzu).

Contributors.

Index.