X-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X-Verse

by Rebecca Housel (Editor), J. Jeremy Wisnewski (Editor), William Irwin (Editor)

Overview

X-Men is one of the most popular comic book franchises ever, with successful spin-offs that include several feature films, cartoon series, bestselling video games, and merchandise. This is the first look at the deeper issues of the X-Men universe and the choices facing its powerful "mutants," such as identity, human ethics versus mutant morality, and self-sacrifice.

J. Jeremy Wisnewski (Oneonta, NY) is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Hartwick College and the editor of Family Guy and Philosophy (978-1-4051-6316-3) and The Office and Philosophy (978-1-4051-7555-5). Rebecca Housel (Rochester, NY) is a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, where she teaches about writing and pop culture. For William Irwin's biography, please see below.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470413401
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	03/23/2009
Series:	Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series , #11
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 2.90(d)

About the Author

Rebecca Housel is a professor of pop culture, creative writing, and medical humanities at Rochester Institute of Technology and contributed to Monty Python and Philosophy.

J. JEREMY WISNEWSKI is an assistant professor of philosophy at Hartwick College and the editor of Family Guy and Philosophy and The Office and Philosophy.

William Irwin is a professor of philosophy at King's College. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles, including Batman and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, and Watchmen and Philosophy.

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Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Superheroic Thanks to X-tra Special Humans and Mutants Alike! xi
Introduction: You Are About to Embark on an X-perience with “the Strangest Heroes of All” 1

X1: ORIGINS

THE X-FACTOR IN THE EXISTENTIAL

1. The Lure of the Normal: Who Wouldn’t Want to Be a Mutant? 5
Patrick D. Hopkins

2. Amnesia, Personal Identity, and the Many Lives of Wolverine 17
Jason Southworth

3. Is Suicide Always Immoral? Jean Grey, Immanuel Kant, and The Dark Phoenix Saga 27
Mark D. White

4. X-istential X-Men: Jews, Supermen, and the Literature of Struggle 38
Jesse Kavadlo

X2: EVOLUTION

CONSCIOUSNESS, CONSCIENCE, AND CURE

5. Mad Genetics: The Sinister Side of Biological Mastery 53
Andrew Burnett

6. Layla Miller Knows Stuff: How a Butterfly Can Shoulder the World 66
George A. Dunn

7. X-Women and X-istence 85
Rebecca Housel

8. Mutant Rights, Torture, and X-perimentation 99
Cynthia McWilliams

9. When You Know You’re Just a Comic Book Character: Deadpool 107
Joseph J. Darowski

X3: UNITED

HUMAN ETHICS AND MUTANT MORALITY IN THE X-VERSE

10. Magneto, Mutation, and Morality 125
Richard Davis

11. Professor X Wants You 140
Christopher Robichaud

12. Dirty Hands and Dirty Minds: The Ethics of Mind Reading and Mindwriting 153
Andrew Terjesen

13. The Mutant Cure or Social Change: Debating Disability 170
Ramona Ilea

14. Mutants and the Metaphysics of Race 183
Jeremy Pierce

X4: TH E LAST STAND

WAR, TECHNOLOGY, DEATH, AND MUTANTKIND

15. Mutant Phenomenology 197
J. Jeremy Wisnewski

16. War and Peace, Power and Faith 209
Katherine E. Kirby

17. High-Tech Mythology in X-Men 223
George Teschner

CONTRIBUTORS: And Now, We’d Like to Introduce the X-Perts: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Amazing, Astonishing, Uncanny, Ultimate Authors from Xavier’s School for Gifted Philosophers! 236

INDEX 241

Editorial Reviews

Marvel Comics' franchise of X-Men superheroes has been rocking the world since 1963, but this paperback is perhaps their closest brush yet with philosophical thinking. Actually, that's not quite true: The editors of this book offer case after persuasive case that members of the X-Men combine have been wrestling with ethics, identity, and other serious issues since their inception. This welcome addition to the ever-resilient Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series provides stimulating proof that great ideas are there for those who look.