Philosophy through Film

Front Cover
Routledge, Jul 11, 2014 - Philosophy - 402 pages

Many of the classic questions of philosophy have been raised, illuminated, and addressed in celluloid. In this Third Edition of Philosophy through Film, Mary M. Litch teams up with a new co-author, Amy Karofsky, to show readers how to watch films with a sharp eye for their philosophical content. Together, the authors help students become familiar with key topics in all of the major areas in Western philosophy and master the techniques of philosophical argumentation.

The perfect size and scope for a first course in philosophy, the book assumes no prior knowledge of philosophy. It is an excellent teaching resource and learning tool, introducing students to key topics and figures in philosophy through thematic chapters, each of which is linked to one or more "focus films" that illustrate a philosophical problem or topic.

Revised and expanded, the Third Edition features:

  • A completely revised chapter on "Relativism," now re-titled "Truth" with coverage of the correspondence theory, the pragmatist theory, and the coherence theory.
  • The addition of four new focus films: Inception, Moon, Gone Baby Gone, God on Trial.
  • Revisions to the General Introduction that include a discussion of critical reasoning.
  • Revisions to the primary readings to better meet the needs of instructors and students, including the addition of three new primary readings: excerpts from Bertrand Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy, from William James’ Pragmatism: A New Way for Some Old Ways of Thinking, and from J. L. Mackie’s "Evil and Omnipotence".
  • Updates and expansion to the companion website, including a much expanded list of films relevant to the various subfields of philosophy.

Films examined in depth include:

Hilary and Jackie

The Matrix

Inception

Memento

Moon

I, Robot

Minority Report

Crimes and Misdemeanors

Gone Baby Gone

Antz

Equilibrium

The Seventh Seal

God on Trial

Leaving Las Vegas

 

Contents

Preface
Skepticism
3Personal Identity
4Artificial Intelligence
Free Will Determinism and Moral Responsibility Memento
Ethics
Political Philosophy
8TheProblem of Evil
Existentialism
Story Lines of Films by Elapsed Time
Readings from Primary Sources Plato Allegory ofthe Cave fromThe Republic Bertrand Russell excerpts from The Problems of Philosophy
Index
Copyright

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About the author (2014)

Mary M. Litch has taught Philosophy at Yale University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is currently Director of Academic Technology and Digital Media at Chapman University, where she also teaches Philosophy.

Amy Karofsky teaches Philosophy at Hofstra University.

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