The Undead and Philosophy

Chicken Soup for the Soulless

Edited by Richard Greene and K. Silem Mohammad

Volume 22 in the Popular Culture and Philosophy series

Ever since Bram Stoker dug up the word "Undead" for his 1897 novel Dracula, the Undead have stalked the human imagination. They now swarm across our TV and movie screens in ever-increasing numbers.

Are some of the people we know really Undead—and how could we tell? If the Undead have been programmed to hunt the living, can we blame them? Are vampires more morally responsible than zombies? Is an Undead individual the same person as before his Undeath? Do zombies have minds? Do the Undead have a right to Undeath under the Ninth Amendment, or would it be murder to Unkill them?

Chapter titles include:

"When There’s No More Room in Hell, the Dead Will Shop the Earth: Romero and Aristotle on Zombies, Happiness, and Consumption"
"She’s Not Your Mother Anymore, She’s a Zombie! Zombies, Value, and Personal Identity"
"When They Aren’t Eating Us, They Bring Us Together: Zombies and the American Social Contract"
"The Fear of Fear Itself: The Philosophy of Halloween"

Richard Greene is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Weber State University and co-editor (with Peter Vernezze) of The Sopranos and Philosophy: I Kill Therefore I Am. He has taught corpses in logic, metaphysics, and epistemology.

Following a spell as Vlad Tepes Visiting Fellow at Transylvania University, K. Silem ("Kasey") Mohammad is now Assistant Professor of English and Writing at Southern Oregon University. He publishes the limetree poetry blog and has authored three volumes of poetry.

Links

Procrastinator's Gift Guide for Horror Fans, Zombo's Closet of Horror blog