Superman and Philosophy: What Would the Man of Steel Do?

by Mark D. White (Editor)

Go beyond the cape and into the mind of the Man of Steel, in time for release of Zack Snyder's Man of Steel movie and Superman's 75th anniversary

He has thrilled millions for 75 years, with a legacy that transcends national, cultural, and generational borders, but is there more to the Man of Steel than just your average mythic superhero in a cape? The 20 chapters in this book present a fascinating exploration of some of the deeper philosophical questions raised by Superman, the Last Son of Krypton and the newest hero in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture arsenal.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Superheroes, Comics, Pop Culture, Superman, Cultural

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2013

Reviews

[Sabbir Taher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and at the same time if somebody wants to enrich oneself at philosophy without heavy reading this a pretty good book.

Nietsheze's Ubermensch -who by the way is just the opposite of Superman,ethics,identity,why Lex abhors Superman to the bone-which has a sound philosophy ground,is Superman being professionally moral by hiding his identity,the religious connotations of Superman these are some of the topics which are discussed in this 20 chapter book.

Once again Grant Morrison's "All Star Superman" proves that this was the best superman comic ever by being cited in the book more than any other-which is a victory for me.

Highly recommended.

[Ginan Aulia Rahman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting!

[Priyam Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had high hopes coming into this one and I'm left slightly disappointed with the output. There's some interesting material in here, but Irwin steers well clear of political philosophy and instead focuses heavily on the religious, metaphysical, and abstract concepts. In my opinion, that does a disservice to the rich history of the character and the abundance of content that is out there - obviously with a fictional character like Superman, there is influence from real world events in the shaping of the character and this was largely ignored.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great explorations on the Man of Steel! The essays on the Ubermensch (he is not!) and morality ethics are stimulating. I am also introduced to new philosophical topics like the problem of identity and resemblance. I will never look at Superman in the same way again. If you are a fan of the Big Blue Boy Scout and you are looking for your next intellectual fix, I'd heartily recommend this book to you.

[Hina Ansari · Rating 4 out of 5]

These earlier pop culture and philosophy books are so much better than the newer ones. The essays are at least 10-12 pages long and are fully fleshed out. Not being much of a superman fan, this one still felt tedious and did repeat similar examples throughout.

[Andy Cyca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read into the blue boy scout, although it gets a bit repetitive at the middle. Some topics covered: Nietzsche's Super-Man, role models, decisions, models of virtue

[Elliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the essays contained in this book made me totally re-evaluate my opinions on the Man of Steel.

[Gav451 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of essays discussing the Philosophical implications of Superman. Its really interesting and while on some of them the writers do not go easy on you in terms of ideas and concepts the are all written in an accessible fashion.

Because they are essays you can dip in and out of the book as you fancy. That helps make the book more accessible.

Its a truly different type of book, give it a go.

[Lav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zelfs voor mensen met een zeer beperkte kennis over Superman en/of filosofie is dit boek heel toegankelijk. Er komen interessante aspecten aan bod, je leest verschillende opinies die leuk en vlot geschreven zijn en het boek geeft onrechtstreeks ook een interessante kijk op de westerse maatschappij. Een aanrader voor zowel fans van het superhelden genre als mensen die (onterecht!) denken dat Superman niets meer is dan een Big Blue Boy Scout die zijn onderbroek boven zijn pak draagt.