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The Philosophy of the X-Files

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 37 ratings · 4 reviews

From its first appearance in 1993, The X-Files has attracted millions of viewers interested in the paranormal investigations of intuitionist and belief-driven Fox Mulder and his partner, Dana Scully, the "consummate scientist" and skeptic. Addressing questions of trust and authority that plague our information-addled society, the series acquired a large fan base of individ...more From its first appearance in 1993, The X-Files has attracted millions of viewers interested in the paranormal investigations of intuitionist and belief-driven Fox Mulder and his partner, Dana Scully, the "consummate scientist" and skeptic. Addressing questions of trust and authority that plague our information-addled society, the series acquired a large fan base of individuals interested in debating and interpreting the philosophical themes that underlie the symbiotic partnership between Mulder and Scully. The Philosophy of The X-Files concentrates not only on the philosophical assumptions and presuppositions of the show but also on how the episodes portray the process of philosophical inquiry. Editor Dean A. Kowalski argues that both philosophy and The X-Files center around a determination to search for truth despite a frequent lack of information and proper tools. It is no surprise, then, to find the series riddled with common philosophical themes, including metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, and existentialism, among others. The first section of the book addresses the credos put forth by the series and examines the philosophical significance of its three popular slogans: "The truth is out there," "Trust no one," and "I want to believe." In the second section, contributors analyze the philosophical underpinnings of the characters of Mulder, Scully, the Cigarette Smoking Man, and Assistant Director Walter Skinner. A final section is devoted to individual episodes and engages with the philosophical issues raised by "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space, '" in addition to the 1998 film The X-Files: Fight the Future. Two appendixes offer a summary of the main storyline and brief plot summaries of each television episode together with the philosophical issues it raises. The first collection of philosophical essays devoted exclusively to the show, The Philosophy of The X-Files shows a television series successfully engaged with the philosophical quandaries of the modern world and explores how Mulder and Scully's personalities and actions invite inquiry into patterns of human belief and behavior.(less)

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Published September 21st 2007 by University Press of Kentucky

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Mar 04, 2013 Allison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: learny, sci-fi

Oh, how I enjoy The X-Files (both Trevor and I do). After we watched the whole series (oh yeah) I was left wanting more. So, I found a bunch of books related to The X-Files and decided to read them. This was the first one. I liked it. It was no X-Files, in and of itself, but it allowed me to literally nerd out--enjoying "inside" jokes from fellow X-Phile authors and simultaneously learning and thinking philosophy. It provided me with a good review of some philosophical tenets and an introduction...more

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Dec 30, 2007 Jamescorey rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Any phile who likes to think about The X-Files

The chapters on the slogan "I want to believe," and those about AD Skinner and CSM, and the episode "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" are particularly strong. I enjoyed the foreword written by William Davis (the actor who played CSM) and I learned from the appendix that tells you what philosophical ideas to look for in particular episodes.

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Nov 17, 2012 Rhianna added it

Not technically finished because I don't want to read the individual episode chapters until I find time to rewatch them. So it's just finished for now!

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Dec 31, 2007 Aerin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy

Got this for my birthday! Yeah, I'm a dork.

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