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Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy (Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture)
In attempting to retain her "human" side, does Sharon really have free will? Is killing a Cylon murder or garbage disposal? These are some of the questions addressed in this thoughtful collection of writings on the philosophical underpinnings of Battlestar, Galactica. The book includes a brief analysis of the original 1970s and 80s series but concentrates primari...more
Paperback, 423 pages
Published
May 28th 2008
by Open Court
(first published January 29th 2008)
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I've been getting a number of the Popular Culture and Philosophy books. I haven't really studied classical philosophy. I didn't take a basic Philosophy class in college.
So, seeing different philosophies shown through the prism of another subject I really like has been really interesting. There's no central theme to the book. You don't get a progressive look at different philosophies over time as illustrated by BSG. What you get is a series of essays grouped broadly into differen...more
So, seeing different philosophies shown through the prism of another subject I really like has been really interesting. There's no central theme to the book. You don't get a progressive look at different philosophies over time as illustrated by BSG. What you get is a series of essays grouped broadly into differen...more
I've read several of the books in the Philosophy and Pop Culture Series and I have to say this is the best one so far. It may be because I'm a major Battlestar Galactica fan but I'd like to think this is the best one because of the subject matter of the show. The show has a tendency to make me agree with actions that I would have never thought I'd support and this book has done the same. It made me rethink a lot of philosophical topics in a way even The Matrix book in this series didn't.
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I was an early fan of this pop culture and philosophy series, but some of these later volumes seem to miss the mark a little. This was more on the critical-review-cultural-studies side of things versus tv/movie-demonstrating-philosophical-concepts side. I was reading for the latter. Not that it wasn’t pretty interesting overall, it just wasn’t what I was hoping for. Also, there has been a marked decrease in the quality of these later volumes (as the quantity increases — there are volumes for sca...more
I'm biased because I wrote two of the essays in this book.
I had to force myself to finish. I really just wanted to keep my BSG high going after finishing the series on DVD. What you’ll find here is entry level philosophy with BSG sprinkled on top. By splitting the difference between the two the book becomes unsatisfying in both philosophic and galactic regards. Some of the articles are written poorly. Of course the ones I liked the most were about things I am already interested in: Heidegger, Zen, feminism, and transhumanism.
Why isn't the ENT...more
Why isn't the ENT...more
This was really interesting. It's a fun way to illustrate various schools of philosophical thought. What would Machiavelli say about Roslin's or Cain's leadership? How does Adama's lie that he knows where Earth is demonstrate the Gettier Problem? Good stuff.
Another good series of essays looking at philosophical concepts and issues through the prism of popular culture, specifically, the first three seasons of the re-visioned Battlestar Galactica.
The range of articles is good and they have been well selected. Despite this being a shorter book than the previous Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy book I read, the pieces themselves seemed to delve a bit deeper into the ideas. This will mostly be of interest to genre and BSG fans. But it'...more
The range of articles is good and they have been well selected. Despite this being a shorter book than the previous Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy book I read, the pieces themselves seemed to delve a bit deeper into the ideas. This will mostly be of interest to genre and BSG fans. But it'...more
There's lots of interesting viewpoints presented here, but the book loses points for some seriously sloppy copyediting. There are duplicated sentences, missing commas, and even characters names spelled wrong. I know things slip through the cracks sometimes, but it got to a point that I could no longer ignore it.
I also wish it had been compiled after the new series was finished, it only goes through season three, but a some of the arguments presented necessarily change with informati...more
I also wish it had been compiled after the new series was finished, it only goes through season three, but a some of the arguments presented necessarily change with informati...more
Suzanne
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Philosophy Majors, and Battlestar Galactica fans.
Recommended to Suzanne by:
Ravelry Forum
9/14/08
This book is titled "Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy," but I think it should have been titled, "Philosophy and Battlestar Galactica." I never took a Philosophy class in college, but now I feel as if I have. I love Battlestar Galactica, and am really enjoying this book, but it is pretty intense, serious reading and, I have a toddler so my brain is not what it used to be. ;o) At the end of the day, which is when I settle into bed and read, this book makes my h...more
This book is titled "Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy," but I think it should have been titled, "Philosophy and Battlestar Galactica." I never took a Philosophy class in college, but now I feel as if I have. I love Battlestar Galactica, and am really enjoying this book, but it is pretty intense, serious reading and, I have a toddler so my brain is not what it used to be. ;o) At the end of the day, which is when I settle into bed and read, this book makes my h...more
I honestly expected very little from this book. I'm a huge BSG fan and I love reading philosophy, but I rather expected a lot less than I got. It actually delved into some interesting correlations between events in the show and ancient (and modern) philosophy. I would say it is definitely worth a read for any BSG fan.
I don't know why I will always read these books, when in the end, I am never really that impressed with them. The other one that I have (the one edited by Richard Hatch) is much better than this volume, but I think that's because Jacob from TWOP has an essay in that one.
Very hit and miss with some of the articles and Ideas presented. Fun read for the most part
Interesting...interesting. It's nice to approach BSG from an intellectual direction.
Edudardo L
is currently reading it
Very well written n thought provoking
because i'm that much of a nerd
so say we all
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