More Doctor Who And Philosophy

Philosophers look at the deeper issues raised by the adventures of Doctor Who, the main character in the long-running science fiction TV series of the same name.

More Doctor Who and Philosophy is a completely new collection of chapters, additional to Doctor Who and Philosophy (2010) by the same editors. Since that first Doctor Who and Philosophy, much has happened in the Whoniverse: a new and controversial regeneration of the Doctor, multiple new companions, a few creepy new enemies of both the Doctor and planet Earth. And the show’s fiftieth anniversary! We’ve learned some astounding new things from the ever-developing story: that the Doctor’s number one rule is to lie, that he claims to have forgotten his role in the mass extermination of the Time Lords and the Daleks, that the Daleks do have a concept of divine beauty (divine hatred, of course), and that Daleks may become insane (didn’t we assume they already were?) Oh, and the cult of the Doctor keeps growing worldwide, with more cultish fans in the US, more and bigger Who conventions, more viewers of all ages, and more serious treatment by scholars from many disciplines. New questions have been raised and new questioners have come along, so there are plenty of new topics for philosophical scrutiny. Is the “impossible” girl really impossible? Is there anything wrong with an inter-species lesbian relationship (the kids weren’t quite ready for that in 1963, but no one blinks an eye in 2015)? Can it really be right for the Doctor to lie and to selectively forget? We even have two authors who have figured out how to build a TARDIS—instructions included! (Wait, there’s a catch, no . . . ?) And then there’s that old question that just won’t go away: why does the Doctor always regenerate as a male, and is that ever going to change? An added feature of this awesome new volume is that the editors have reached out to insiders of Who fandom, people who run hugely successful Who conventions, play in Who-inspired bands, and run wildly popular podcasts and websites, to share their privileged insights into why the Doctor is so philosophically deep. No more spoilers. It’s time for the truly thoughtful travelers in both time and space to rev up the TARDIS once more. . . . Allons-y, Alonzo!

When you have been wandering the cosmos from one end of eternity to another for nearly a thousand years, what's your philosophy of life, the universe, and everything? Doctor Who is 50 years' old in 2013. Through its long life on television and beyond it has inspired much debate due to the richness and complexity of the metaphysical and moral issues that it poses. This is the first in-depth philosophical investigation of Doctor Who in popular culture. From 1963's An Unearthly Child through the latest series, it considers continuity and change in the pictures that the programme paints of the nature of truth and knowledge, science and religion, space and time, good and evil, including the uncanny, the problem of evil, the Doctor's complex ethical motivations, questions of persisting personal identity in the Time Lord processes of regeneration, the nature of time travel through 'wibbley-wobbley, timey-wimey stuff, how quantum theory affects our understanding of time; and the nature of the mysterious and irrational in the Doctor's universe.

Explore the mind and world of the brilliant neurosurgeon-turned-Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Stephen Strange Marvel Comics legends Stan Lee and Steve Ditko first introduced Doctor Stephen Strange to the world in 1963—and his spellbinding adventures have wowed comic book fans ever since. Over fifty years later, the brilliant neurosurgeon-turned-Sorcerer Supreme has finally travelled from the pages of comics to the big screen, introducing a new generation of fans to his mind-bending mysticism and self-sacrificing heroics. In Doctor Strange and Philosophy, Mark D. White takes readers on a tour through some of the most interesting and unusual philosophical questions which surround Stephen Strange and his place in the Marvel Universe. Essays from two-dozen Philosophers Supreme illuminate how essential philosophical concepts, including existentialism, epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics, relate to the world of Doctor Strange. Fans will find answers to all their Strange questions: How does Doctor Strange reconcile his beliefs in science and magic? What does his astral self say about the relationship between mind and body? Why is he always so alone? And what does he mean when he says we’re just “tiny momentary specks within an indifferent universe”—and why was he wrong? You won’t need the Eye of Agamotto to comprehend all that is wise within. Doctor Strange and Philosophy offers comic book fans and philosophers alike the chance to dive deeper into the world of one of Marvel’s most mystical superheroes.

In zir travels through space and time through the last 26 years, the Doctor has had to solve numerous complex problems-- problems that often have applications to everyday life. This book, written by one of the Doctor's biggest fans, will explore, discuss and demonstrate the Doctor's distinctive view of life, ethics, spiritualism, and science. On the evening of September 17th 1983, six-year-old Courtland Lewis sat down on his grandparents' linoleum floor to watch something he later learned was called Doctor Who. It changed his life. Thirty-eight years later, Courtland Lewis is a philosophy professor and the author or editor of fifteen books--six of them about Doctor Who. Most recently, Dr. Lewis edited Kiss and Philosophy: Wiser than Hell (2020). Courtland Lewis knows his stuff. As a lifelong Doctor Who fan, he understands the history and concepts of the show. As a philosophy professor, he has the ability to break down those concepts, examine them from every angle, and convey them to readers in easily understandable terms. Doctor Who can be a tricky show, full of high and complex continuity, and Dr. Lewis is an admirable guide through the vortex of space and time. --R. Alan Siler, author of Doctor Who's Greatest Hits (Remastered) and editor of Children of Time: The Companions of Doctor Who (2018) Love Doctor Who? Want to figure out how to live a life actually worth living? Then let Courtland Lewis be your guide in this fantastic explanation of what it means to be a good person, by way of the example set by the Time Lord from Gallifrey. -Massimo Pigliucci, author of A Field Guide to a Happy Life: Brief Lessons for Living (2020), and How To Be A Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (2017). It's hard to believe, but although the Doctor has been around for billions of years, he (or occasionally she) has only been teaching us how to live for sixty years. Lest we forget some of the Doctor's invaluable lessons, they have been captured, distilled, and condensed in this handy little communication device called a 'book'. This 'book' thingy has the descriptor The Real Meaning of Doctor Who. Amazing, really. -Ray Scott Percival, author of The Myth of the Closed Mind: Understanding How and Why People Are Rational (2012) Grab your bow-tie (because bow-ties are cool) and don your fez. Dr. Lewis takes us on an exciting journey into the examined life of the Doctor, getting us into the thick of things with moral dilemmas faced by the Doctor, the mission to avoid the monsters who threaten us with their evil actions, and how to deal with endings. This guidebook shows us how to lead a better life with the Doctor as our exemplar. As the Doctor says, You've got to throw yourself in! so embrace your inner flaneur and engage with life. Geronimo! -Paula Smithka, co-editor of Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside (2010), More Doctor Who and Philosophy: Regeneration Time (2015), and Community, Diversity and Difference: Implications for Peace (2005) --Courtland Lewis

HOUSE AND PHILOSOPHY Is being nice overrated? Are we really just selfish, base animals crawling across Earth in a meaningless existence? Would reading less and watching more television be good for you? Is House a master of Eastern philosophy or just plain rude? Dr. Gregory House is arguably the most complex and challenging antihero in the history of television, but is there more to this self-important genius than gray matter and ego? This book takes a deeper look at House to reveal the philosophical underpinnings of this popular medical drama and its cane-waving curmudgeon’s most outrageous behavior. What emerges is a remarkable character who is part Sherlock Holmes, part Socratic philosopher, part Nietzschean superman, part Taoist rhetorician, and not at all as screwed up as you might think. With everything from Aristotle to Zen, House and Philosophy takes an engaging look at everyone’s favorite misanthropic genius and his team at Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital. To learn more about the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, visit www.andphilosophy.com

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living? NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST MEMOIRS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • People • NPR • The Washington Post • Slate • Harper’s Bazaar • Time Out New York • Publishers Weekly • BookPage Finalist for the PEN Center USA Literary Award in Creative Nonfiction and the Books for a Better Life Award in Inspirational Memoir At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality. What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir. Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. “I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything,” he wrote. “Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: ‘I can’t go on. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both.

Courtland Lewis has scoured the planet to bring together the most talented faction members, factionless, and even a few from the Bureau to discuss the philosophy of Divergent. Divergent and Philosophy begins by examining the personal struggles that all people face at some time: What sort of person should I be? What if I find out my life is a lie? What do I owe my parents? Am I normal? Once readers have finished answering these questions they’re ready for the “choosing ceremony.” Part two examines each faction, looking at its virtues, vices, and other features that will help readers pick the “right” faction. This part gives readers a glimpse into what it’s like to be faced with the most important decision of our lives, the one that will forever determine who we are. Part three takes a step takes a step back, in order to question Chicago's ordering of society. Chicago is on the verge of revolution, but is this the result of the faction system itself, or is it the people within the factions that are behind the social discord? Part four shifts the focus individuals and those who hold power. Part five tells us how to recognize injustice.