The Simpsons and Philosophy [antikvár]

Introduction: Meditations on Springfield? How many philosophers does it take to write a book about The Simpsons? Apparently, about 20 to write it and 3 to edit. But that's not so bad, considering it takes 300 people 8 months, at a cost of 1.5 million dollars, to make a single episode of The Simpsons. Seriously, though, don't we have other work to do besides writing about TV shows? The short answer is yes, we do, but we enjoyed writing these essays, and we hope you'll enjoy reading them. The seeds for this volume were sown a few years ago. When the popular comedy Seinfeld was going off the air, William Irwin had a quirky idea—a collection of philosophical essays on the "show about nothing." He and his philosopher pals enjoyed the show and engaged in many humorous and stimulating discussions about it, so why not share the fun in the form of a book? The people at Open Court had the vision, fortitude, and sense of humor to take on the project, and so Irwin found himself editing Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing. The book was a true success, not only among academics, but among the general public as well. Another television show Irwin and his friends enjoyed and had discussed is The Simpsons. They appreciated its irony, its irreverence, and they realized that—like Seinfeld—it was a rich and fertile ground for philosophical investigation and discussion. So Irwin decided to put together a second volume, this one on The Simpsons, and he asked rwo of the contributors to the Seinfeld book, Mark Conard and Aeon Skoble, to co-edit the work. Once again, Open Court applauded the idea, and if you're reading this, you're obviously at least a little interested in either philosophy, The Simpsons, or both. The concept is the same: the show has enough intelligence and depth to warrant some philosophical discussion, and as a popular show, can also serve as a vehicle for exploring a variety of philosophical issues for a general audience.