Pop Goes Philosophy

a monthly column

As featured on PopMatters

Welcome to Pop Goes Philosophy, a monthly column featuring essays by Open Court authors, presented by our friends at the PopMatters website. Here philosophers find deep meaning in the depths, and at least a tiny ray of reflection in the shallows, of all that is pop culture.

• Lead Us Not Into Speculation, Nor Excessive Computation January 15, 2008, by by George Reisch and Nick Bostrom

  A prominent philosopher argues that you, me, and everyone you know may be an artificial computer-simulation of a person.

• Don't Keep Your Philosophy Under Your (Mr.) Hat Nov. 14, 2007, by George Reisch and Randall Auxier

  The point of philosophy going pop is not to exalt the ivory tower and herd people inside; it's to give philosophers a chance to leave.

• My Philosophy, My Vertigo Sept. 5, 2007, by George Reisch, Noël Carroll and Dan Flory

  Are the workings of the human mind and heart forever beyond the reach of science to understand? Two philosophers find the question—and opposed answers—in Hitchcock's Vertigo.

• Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Choose July 10, 2007, by George Reisch and Matthew Turner

  Stoics say freedom is an illusion. That's why they have no choice but to think deeply about the Grateful Dead.

• High-Minded Bullshit May 8, 2007, by George Reisch and Gary L. Hardcastle

  Philosophy itself is often regarded as part and parcel with the bullshit of popular culture. But it is philosophers who been trying to determine exactly what bullshit is and how it works its magic.

• The Meaning (wink, wink) of Life April 9, 2007, by George Reisch and Edward Slowik

  The territory of Pop Goes Philosophy is this sudden convergence of philosophy and pop culture. We'll dip into these books and I'll introduce some of the best, weirdest, or most puzzling ideas they have to offer, such as Ed Slowik's conclusion that the study of every Monty Python DVD, will actually increase your chances of doing better in Philosophy 101.

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