Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts

Popular Culture and Philosophy #9

by David Baggett (Editor), Shawn E. Klein (Editor)

In Harry Potter and Philosophy, seventeen philosophical experts unlock some of Hogwarts' secret panels, and uncover surprising insights that are enlightening both for wizards and the most discerning muggles.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Harry Potter, Pop Culture, Psychology, Essays, Adult

243 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2004

About the author

David Baggett (PhD, Wayne State University) is professor of philosophy in the Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is the coauthor of Good God: The Theistic Foundations of Morality, God and Cosmos: Moral Truth and Human Meaning, and At the Bend of the River Grand. He is the editor of Did the Resurrection Happen? and the coeditor of C.S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty; The Philosophy of Sherlock Holmes; and Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts.

Reviews

[Mikella Etchegoyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Dad commented, when he saw I was reading this, that people are looking too far into something as simple as a children's story about wizards. To me, Harry Potter is much more than that but in a way, my argument is not that he is wrong but that he saw this book as something different than it was. I do not see this book as an examination on the deeper meaning of Harry Potter (which in my opinion is a legitimate study that could be made) but rather an examination of Philosophy using aspects of Harry Potter as examples. Personally, with an interest in Harry Potter and Philosophy as separate subjects, I found this book to be amazing. It gave me a clearer understanding of many ideas in philosophy as well as a clearer understanding of Harry Potter. I think the purpose of these series of Popular Culture Philosophy books serve the purpose of drawing fans of the subjects (Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Buffy, Dexter, etc) into a deeper realm of thinking. It exposes people who will never go to college to study Philosophy to ideas that may be the foundation of the world.

[Anna C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a disappointment... especially when my expectations were so high. Just look at that title. "Harry Potter and Philosophy." It would take you days of focus group discussion to come up with a book I would rather buy.

I've actually read two others volumes of the Blackwell Pop Culture and Philosophy Series: Lost and the Office. HP appears to be one of the earlier series installments- I suspect the editors were still experimenting.

To make my point simply:

Sample essay in "The Office and Philosophy" = Author uses an instance of Tim pranking Gareth (it's the British one, folks) to illustrate paraconsistent logic.

Sample essay in "Harry Potter and Philosophy" = The friendship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione is healthier than the friendship between Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.

(I will refrain from citing a sample essay from "Lost and Philosophy," as you need a doctorate in philosophy to understand that cluster*censored* of a show anyway.)

According to the endnotes, the authors in this collection are professors and graduate students. Frankly, I would be mortified to turn in any of these essays. I understand that these are meant for a general audience, but the quality of thought is just embarrassing. They are filled with sweeping generalizations, dumbed down ideas, and frankly poor scholarship. Take, for example, the essay about feminism in Harry Potter. (Again- such potential!)

Although the Potter series has many strong female characters, it has been criticized by feminist scholars. In "Goblet of Fire," for example, the one female Champion is defined purely through her beauty and fails to complete the second task. Or, male professors at Hogwarts (even bad ones like Lockhart) are described as stately and dignified, while female professors (even good ones like Sprout) are eccentric and befuddled. However, the author of the feminist essay promptly dismisses these points and then reminds us how awesome Hermione is.

Look, editors, even if the essays have a rather low caliber, at least get your Potter facts right. For example, one author defines Voldemort's name as French for "rejoices in death" and spends several paragraphs analyzing the apparent contradiction between his name and his horror of mortality. Actually guys, I speak French. "Vol de mort" means "flight from death." That one fact invalidates a fair sized chunk of the original essay. Big difference.
I lost all faith in the book when one of the authors references the time Harry blew up Aunt Marge.... in "Chamber of Secrets." I must have missed that scene.

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm currently reading this for my Harry Potter and Philosophy class and I will be updating my review space with each chapter I've read.

Chapter 14: Space, Time, and Magic- Michael Silberstein
There are a lot of great theories that Silberstein tackles with time travel, portkeys, and portals (floo networks and Platform 9 3/4 or Diagon Alley). The chapter itself makes a lot of great points and is enjoyable enough to read. It's nothing profound, but a lot of the points Silberstein brings up make for a great philosophy discussion. Recommend: Read

Chapter 16: The Prophecy-Driven Life: Fate and Freedom at Hogwarts- Gregory Bassham
This chapter is poorly written. Bassham is not a very strong writer and a lot of the statements he makes made me feel very uncomfortable or having me shaking my head. A lot of Bassham's claims are very dismissive and this doesn't do well to support his claims, especially when I can personally disprove most of his claims through his complete disregard for the other side that he dismisses. The chapter offered good discussion in class because it points out important topics like fatalism (even though it completely dismisses it) and determinism. Recommend: Skip

Chapter 11: Voldemort, Boethius, and the Destructive Effects of Evil- Jennifer Hart Weed
This is a really interesting and probably one of my favorites that I've read for my class just because Weed does an excellent job backing up her philosophical arguments with examples from the novel. It's a strong essay, it's short and to the point. Really well-done. Recommend: Read

Chapter 10: A Skewed Reflection: The Nature of Evil- David & Catherine Deavel
This is one of the worst essays I've ever read. The arguments these writers make contradict themselves and have no basis. Their examples are cringey and the content overall is just completely rubbish. The discussion for this is class was great because everyone had something to say or were able to discredit the points made. Recommend: SKIP

Chapter 3: Voldemort's Agents, Malfoy's Cronies, and Hargrid's Chums: Friendship in Harry Potter- Harald Thosrsrud
This chapter follows friendship, specifically Aristotle's definition and thoughts on friendship. It was really interesting to see someone's essay on Aristotle's friendship and how it applies to HP. Recommend: Read

Chapter 4: Feminism and Equal Opportunity: Hermione and the Women of Hogwarts- Mimi R. Gladstein
I wanted more from this essay. It felt understated and I really felt like more could've been included or expanded on. Overall, it's not a bad essay, but I wanted more. Recommend: Skip

Essays Read Outside of Class:
Chapter 1: The Courageous Harry Potter- Tom Morris
There were only two philosophical concepts to back up Morris' claims and this essay just felt like a waste of time. This is a good example of how not to start an essay collection. If I had read this in the bookstore and was deciding to purchase it, I would've put it back on the shelf. Recommend: Skip

Chapter 2: Dursley Duplicity: The Morality and Psychology of Self-Deception - Diana Mertz Hsieh
This is a very strong essay that has a great array of examples from both philosophy and Harry Potter to back it her claims. I think that this one would've been a great opening chapter. The introduction was strong and it was a consistent essay. I enjoyed reading it. Recommend: Read

Chapter 5: Heaven, Hell, and Harry Potter - Jerry L. Walls
This is a relatively strong essay, but it does get a little boring in sections. I would love to see this essay expanded on with the information provided in the Deathly Hallows with Harry's resurrection. Recommend: Read

Chapter 6: Magic, Science, and the Ethics of Technology -Benjamin J. Bruxvoort Lipscomb and W. Christopher Stewart
For me personally, this topic was incredibly boring and I thought it was a rather bland essay. I'm sure fans of science, alchemy, and an influx of information will really enjoy this essay. I dislike science and this made me this essay a miss for me, but it isn't a bad one. Recommend: Skip, Unless You Love Science

Chapter 7: The Mirror of Erised: Why We Should Heed Dumbledore's Warning - Shawn E. Klein
This essay made a lot of interesting points about the Experience Machine (similar to The Matrix) and it's correlation with the Mirror of Erised. I thought it was an interesting essay, but a lot the references did go over my head, either because I haven't seen the movie or show in a while or because I have never seen it, and when incorporating a Pop Culture reference without explaining its correlation or relevance to the argument, it can be a little boring and lead to slight frustration. Recommend: Read

Chapter 8: Kreacher's Lament: S.P.E.W. as a Parable on Discrimination, Indifference, and Social Justice - Steven W. Patterson
This essay is mediocre. It's not horrible, but something about it feels contradictory. Patterson uses a lot of Immanuel Kant's philosophical writings to support his claims and contradicts Kant's claims instead of integrating them seamlessly or presenting a good argument. It's disappointing. The information on Kant is the best part of this essay.
Recommend: Meh

Chapter 9: Is Ambition a Virtue? Why Slytherin Belongs at Hogwarts - Steven W. Patterson
This had the potential to be a good essay, but the problem is that there is not nearly enough philosophical evidence to back up claims and this essay doesn't, in my opinion, belong in a philosophy text. Patterson is not the best essay contributor and after reading two of his essays in a row, I feel inclined to make that deduction.
Recommend: Skip

Chapter 12: Magic, Muggles, and Moral Imagination - David Baggett
I really liked this essay. It's not the strongest, but it's enjoyable. Baggett focuses on the controversy surrounding the Harry Potter books and why so many people try to ban it. I thought he made a lot of good points and one of them particularly struck me as profound, "ethics is about more than just rigidly obeying inflexible rules; it's about the kind of person one is and the sorts of moral goods one cherishes, such as human dignity, freedom, and life.
Recommend: Read

Chapter 13: Finding Platform 9 3/4: The Idea of a Different Reality - Gareth B. Matthews
This essay had no philosophy in it. All it was comparing a couple of random magical concepts in Harry Potter with The Wizard of Oz and the Chronicles of Narnia. A fun concept, but it doesn't fit with the theme of this collection. It feels out of place.
Recommend: Skip

Chapter 15: Why Voldemort Won't Just Die Already: What Wizards Can Teach Us about Personal Identity - Jason T. Eberl
I think Eberl jumped the gun on writing this essay before the last two books were released. It is completely false to the overall arc of what's revealed within Harry and who is. However, the philosophy is strong and is nice to read, but not the best.
Recommend: Skip, but Read If You Love Philosophy

Overall: 2 stars

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a mixed bag. Maybe if I was experiencing an acute Harry Potter phase, I would have liked it more. But as philosophy book, it was weak. About half of the essays really bored me, and it was hard to keep focussed or figure out what exactly their point was. General "Looking at the philosophical theme of X in Harry Potter" always bore me, I much prefer the ones that go a little deeper. So enjoyed the one about free will vs determinism in the series, or spacial/time lines. Overall just an okay book.

[Christine H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first came across this book when I was doing research for my Witchcraft and Magic in Religion course. I was excited about the philosophical approaches to be encountered in this collection of essays. Overall, though, I was a bit disappointed. Halfway through the book, I realized that the essays were more to be skimmed rather than embraced. While there were shining moments in most of the essays (an occasional interesting take on a relationship in the HP series or analogies that drew together unlikely philosophers/thoughts), I found myself faced more with pop-philosophy (just as misleading as pop-psychology) than an in-depth look at the philosophical origins, interpretations, and ramifications of the series. It was as if a teacher had assigned his/her students a free-for-all essay about the Harry Potter books with directions to simply find any philosophy they could connect to them rather than asked the students to develop clear, research-based, thesis-proving analyses.

Oh, and the title was never fully realized or explored. If Aristotle ran Hogwarts, then ... ?

[Amanda Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book at all, especially for the huge discounted price I got it for. If you like Harry Potter and/or if you like theories in philosophy, this is a great book to read to merge those topics together. There are various authors writing this book and they all do a great job of taking a philosophical topic, explaining it and then applying that to examples within the Harry Potter series, but only through Order of the Phoenix. It's a very interesting read, especially for huge Harry Potter fans.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essays were thought-provoking without being pretentious or obscure, and you could tell they were written by people who enjoy both Harry Potter and philosophy. In addition, I felt like I actually learned some things about classic philosophers as they compared their ideas to scenarios in the Harry Potter books.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this back in my Harry Potter Days. This was years ago when I was obsessed with the series, couldn’t get enough of the books and movies, visited Mugglenet daily (even met Emerson Spartz), joined a weekly discussion group at the local bookstore, dressed up for a midnight release party, etc. Thank goodness that’s the past!!

That being said, I’m addicted to the Popular Culture and Philosophy Series. I’ve read most of the one on baseball, among others, and I own the new one for the Twilight saga. Of course, Harry Potter and Philosophy is still one of my favorites. (Can’t say it helped me much in my Intro. to Phil. course, sadly.) It’s marked to hell with highlighter and I think a whole pad of sticky notes is living within the pages.

My favorite essays are Heaven, Hell, and Harry Potter, Is Ambition a Virtue? Why Sytherin Belongs at Hogwarts, and Skewed Reflection: The Nature of Evil. Why? I guess because through the whole series, I was always fascinated with the levels of morality J.K. Rowling’s characters operated on. How Snape, who was portrayed as morally duplicitous, could be high on that scale; how others could be so low. I also loved exploring thoughts on love—specifically, a mother’s love and bond—and its protective, “magical” powers, especially as it applied to Lilly and the charm she left on Harry. And conversely, how the lack of that love can create evil, a.k.a. Voldemort. I like this passage in A Skewed Reflection: “Evil does not really exist in itself, but is a privation, a lacking in what something is supposed to be. It is a lacking of what is good” (132).

This book was written before HPatH-BP came out, which is inconvenient, because I think there was a lot of philosophical material where the link between Harry and Voldemort was concerned; as it’s written on page 136, “Voldemort chills us most because he is one of us and represents the possibility of choosing evil freely […] we fear most hearing from him what Luke Skywalker heard from Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back: “I am your father”—I am of the same flesh as you.” Ponderings over the similarities and differences of Harry and Tom’s upbringings, in particular, have occupied many a recess of my mind on a lazy afternoon. And I thought I was over my HP obsession…

Space, Time, and Magic still has me scratching my head, even while HPatPoA is my favorite book. When Hermione did it, it made sense! Voldemort’s Agents, Malfoy’s Cronies, and Hagrid’s Chums: Friendship in Harry Potter and The Mirror of Erised: Why We Should Heed Dumbledore’s Warning are also good, as is Dursley Duplicity: The Morality and Psychology of Self-Deception, if you want to feel something close to understanding for those intolerant muggles’ behavior. The entire book, every essay, is full of relevance and good philosophical food to nosh on. Four stars.

[Tina L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book picked up at a book sale and the contents looks promising as I have always found many worthy lessons to be learned from in the Potter series. I personally do not read much of philosophy books so some bits were a bit deep and certain concepts were a little difficult to grasp, but thought-provoking all the same. All the essays are well referenced when mentioning other works, however I'm not sure if they do check out.

On the other hand, it was shocking to me that simple references to the Harry Potter series itself were inaccurate, and as a diehard Potterhead, this was unacceptable. For instance, an essay exploring space, time and how the witches and wizards of the Wizarding World are able to use all sorts of transportation such as Floo Powder, Portkeys and Apparating/Disapparating methods. The example raised was Professor McGonagall Apparating from the Great Hall to some other location. I mean how many times does Hermione have to remind the audiences that you can't Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts! Honestly, people need to go and read Hogwarts: A History. Other bits were things like confusing an event from one book for another.

This book was published when only five of the Harry Potter books were completed, so it would be interesting to see how the essays would change considering how the rest of the plot turned out. All in all, have a go with this book if you are into Harry Potter and appreciate a bit of philosophical applications of the stories. Just bear in mind that some of the essays were definitely deserving of a T for the poor Potter referencing!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it would have been more informative if they had waited to gather essays after the seventh book was published, rather than publishing it during the middle of the series. There were many times I thought to myself "I wonder if the author would feel differently if they had read book seven/six". The last two books present some very interesting perspectives and ideas to the fandom and I would have like to seen other's thoughts on them.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great idea to mix media and philosophy like this! Each essay was a really unique approach or topic from one another, and we get a good representation of analysis from the different branches of philosophy.

My rating is probably skquered high just because this experience was a novelty for me and so I had a lot of fun with every essay, even the ones I didn't like. I think even though their explorations of subjects were brief it is sometimes kinda nicer to read through briefer but more philosophical ideas. Ie for a format like this that is so causal, quantity over quality was fine with me. Not to imply that they were all low quality, some were really awesome. But it definitely was a mixed bag.

I have a whole google doc where I meticulously responded to each essay, for my sanity's sake. But the tldr; "Dursley Duplicity", "Magic, Science, and the Ethics of Technology" are really great.

"Heaven, Hell, and Harry Potter" was Olympic level mental gymnastics (not a compliment) and "Feminism and Equal Opportunity: Hermione and the Women of Hogwarts" was some really dated feminism, relying on proving that because the female characters succeeded at traditionally masculine traits and because they often surpassed the male characters this proved feminism. She ends up really tearing down some of the male characters in this process (even Harry lmao) to prove her point. Also Colette Dowling is referenced legitimately.

[Syki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nejspíš neexistuje mnoho lidí, kteří nikdy neslyšeli o kouzelnické knižní sérii Harry Potter. J.K.Rowling se stala slavnou nejen díky svým oblíbeným knihám, ale také díky jejich filmovému zpracování. V současné době je až legrační, že prvního dílu Harryho se v počátcích vytisklo jen 500 výtisků. Kniha čtenáře však nadchla natolik, že se v první vlně prodalo 700 000 kusů. Celé série získala řadu ocenění a ve světě se jí prodalo více než 400 milionů kopií. Sama Rowling dostala od královny Alžběty II. Řád britského impéria za přínos dětské literatuře.

K takto věhlasné sérii samosebou vznikla celá řada doprovodných či vysvětlujících knih. Rowling ovšem stojí pouze za třemi z nich, ostatní mají na svědomí jiní spisovatelé. Jednou z těchto knih je také Harry Potter a filozofie. V tomto případě nejde ani tak o klasickou knihu, jako o sbírku filozofických esejí na téma kouzelnického světa v knihách o Harrym. Editoři David Baggett a Shawn E. Klein vytvořili knihu složenou ze zamyšlení svých kolegů. Jsou oba profesory filozofie, první na King’s College v Pensylvánii a druhý na Arizona State University. David objíždí vlaková nádraží po celém světě a hledá nástupiště označená číslem se zlomkem. Shawn zase doufá, že se jednoho dne dožije toho, že jeho oblíbené bostonské famfrpálové družstvo vyhraje světový pohár.

Neříkali jste si někdy, proč je v Bradavicích také Zmijozelská kolej, když jsou v ní zdá se jen samí zlí studenti? Jaký má význam přátelství mezi hlavní trojicí, ale taky mezi ostatními postavami? Jak významné postavení má Hermiona jako jedna z hlavních postav? Jak Harry dokáže přemoci svůj strach a konat, když je potřeba? Že Dursleyovi zásadně žijí v neustálém sebeklamu, který se na nich po celý život výrazně podepisuje?

Kniha se zaměřuje na filozofické podněty v knižní sérii. Projde přes nejvýznamnější myslitele, jako je Aristoteles a jeho pohled na ctnosti, až k feminismu a rovnocennému postavení žen v knihách. Dozvíme se, že Malfoy je možná prevít, ale jen ctižádostiví lidé se dostanou tam, kam chtějí. Zjistíme, že Voldemort nikdy neměl žádné přátele, ale jen stoupence, kteří přišli, jen když se jim to hodilo… A spoustu dalších informací.

Překladatelka si s knihou musela dát pořádnou práci. Nejen kvůli správnosti filozofických pojmů, ale taky kvůli neustálým odkazům na úryvky knih. Těch je v textu opravdu požehnaně a i když si nejspíš už do puntíku nepamatuju každé slovo z celé série, zdály se mi překlady správné. Překlad na jedničku.

Jako správnému Potteromaniakovi mi toto zamyšlení na prvními pěti knihami série přišlo fascinující. Kniha mě donutila podívat se na mou oblíbenou sérii úplně jiným, dospělejším, pohledem. Nabádala mě k přemýšlení nad jednotlivými postavami, nad přátelstvím, nad událostmi, celkovém konceptu příběhu a jeho vývoji.

Text je ovšem někdy až přespříliš filozofický, tudíž by mohl některé čtenáře nudit, dokonce i odrazovat. Některé pasáže můžou čtenáři připadat až zbytečně dlouhé a dopodrobna rozebrané. Jde opravdu o filozfické pojetí knih. Není se tedy čemu divit.

Knihu ocení spíše fanoušci Harryho Pottera a filozofové. Autoři jednotlivých esejí se na kouzelnickou sérii zaměřili právě filozofickým pohledem a důkladně rozebrali různé aspekty knihy, o kterých jsem sama nikdy až tak neuvažovala. Líbilo se mi odkrývat důležitost pro mě zcela obyčejných věcí v knize a rozebírat je dopodrobna. Filozofie mě vždycky bavila, při maturitě jsem si vytáhla Sokrata s Platónem. Četla jsem hodně knih věnovaných světu Harryho Pottera a tahle pro mě byla dalším skvělým počtením.

Jedná se o velice zajímavý pohled na kouzelnickou sérii. Škoda jen, že se zaobírá prvními pěti díly. Zajímal by mě názor na Snapena i Malfoye po sedmém díle. Knize tak dávám 4 hvězdičky.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly this book is intended to be read by an audience that may or may not be familiar with philosophical principles but is a fan of the Harry Potter series. What this book does is use those Harry Potter books as a way in which to explain certain philosophical concepts by using explanations from the HP series. The essays included (there are a total of sixteen) may not always be deep, detailed philosophical discussions, but all of them, to varying degrees of success, are thought-provoking.

Some of the pieces I have read before, such as the one concerning time travel in PoA, but most are new to me. That being said, I was disappointed that the essays had not been updated to include information concerning the last two books in the series (the first edition of this book was written after OotP but before HBP). Still, I feel that I'll read the HP books in a new way the next time I pick them up because I'll have so many new things to think about that I mainly had forgotten.

Overall, the tone is instructive without being condescending. Skip over the introduction and author bios., as they are so manufactured that you might want to gouge out your eyes and never start reading the actual essays (some of which also, annoyingly, use HP characters as examples to explain more difficult concepts). But give the essays a chance because they will further enhance the reading experience of the HP books.

[Mattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another installment in the "[insert pop culture icon:] and Philosophy" series, this is a compilation of essays on philosophy, examined through analysis of and as exemplified by the Harry Potter series. Of the three books in this series I've read this one has been the strongest. I'm not sure if that's the luck of the draw, or because the focus of the other two I read (Monty Python & The Simpsons) were satire and Harry Potter isn't. The essays are sorted into the sections reflecting the four houses of Hogwarts, a cute, but also effective organizing tactic. Not surprisingly, I enjoyed the Ravenclaw essays the best (really, does anyone out there think I'm not a Ravenclaw?). My biggest knock, and the reason I've given it 3 instead of 4 stars, is that they didn't wait until the series was done before publishing this volume. The evolution and resolution of the storyline didn't invalidate any of the essays (at least not too much), but I'd have liked to have seen what, if any, amendments to the essays some of the authors would have made if they'd been writing after the end of the series.

[Yusra · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://incompletetales.tumblr.com/pos...

No, don’t let the first few words excite you. This is not a new Harry Potter book. I know, let all the excitement just deflates away. Now judging from the summary, you probably think “Wow this must be a great insight and deep analysis on the world of Harry Potter.” Mind you, the last 2 books haven’t been published yet. But even aside from that, this book only touches on the selected topics. The “essay” style is probably not a great choice because they’re all too short and read as just that, a school paper. So it’s safe to say I probably would not have purchased this book had I read it first in the library. If anyone knows any Harry Potter books that are more in depth, then please let me know so I can temporarily get rid of the recurring PPD (post potter depressing) symptoms.

[B.B. Free · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't let the Harry Potter theme fool you. This is some serious discussion on philosophical principles using situations in the beloved book series to pose questions and present examples. At times I had to go back and read certain portions of text again because of the complexity, but Harry Potter certainly helped. Perhaps others will find the ideas and concepts fundamental, but for me it was quite the philosophy refresher.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

It sounds like it should be a fun book...but it isn't. Most of the articles are either inconsequential or crap. Most are inconsequential crap.

[Mary Vaughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some essays were better than others, but I found the collection overall enjoyable and thought provoking. Would have been five stars if the authors included references/material from Harry Potter books 6 and 7 as well.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I don't really know anything about philosophy, but I know a lot about Harry Potter. I thought these essays did a nice job of explaining basic ideas of philosophy and relating them to the Harry Potter series. I rarely felt lost or confused when reading the essays.

The book is divided into four sections of four essays each; each section is named after a Hogwarts House and the essays therein are themed accordingly.

It's a little disappointing that, because the book was published in 2003, it was impossible for them to take the events of the last two books into account. Many of the essays wouldn't change, but there were instances where I wondered how new revelations from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows would figure into the authors' arguments. For example, in Benjamin J. Bruxvoort Lipscomb and W. Christopher Stewart's essay "Magic, Science, and the Ethics of Technology", they mention that Harry is unable to perform the Cruciatus curse properly at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix because he is too "good"; that "only the corrupt can perform [the Unforgivable Curses]". In Deathly Hallows, Harry performs two Unforgivable Curses without hesitation or consequence. Other important plot devices and character developments, like the introduction of the idea of Horcruxes or Dumbledore's backstory, also would've added interest to some of the essays. Jennifer Hart Weed's essay "Voldemort, Boethius, and the Destructive Effects of Evil" summarizes Boethius's claims that committing evil actions leads to "an internal division in the evildoer, which in turn leads to misery and greater self-destruction". I noticed that this sentiment was similar to Dumbledore's explanation that "Killing rips the soul apart" and allows for the formation of Horcruxes.

The ways that the various essayists merged philosophy and Harry Potter differed. Some discussed traditional philosophical questions, using only examples from the Harry Potter universe to illustrate their points. Others merged the two worlds very well, discussing characters and plot points in terms of aspects of philosophy, morality, or epistemology. Some were incredibly well written; others read like high school essays (but were nonetheless entertaining in content). Several incorporated other fantasy worlds (Baum's Oz, Lewis' Narnia, and Tolkien's Middle-earth) into their essays as well. All of the essays were clear and concise and well-organized.

The understanding that the writers seemed to have of the Potter universe varied for each author also. Some made analyses of the text that disagreed with mine (that is, they read the book wrong IMO). For instance, Michael Silberstein discusses "Apparition" in his essay "Space, Time, and Magic", using quotes taken from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that were actually describing the sensation of traveling by Portkey. The physical feeling of Apparition isn't described by Rowling until Half-Blood Prince, and it's obvious when you compare the two that they are distinct forms of transportation. It makes sense that Silberstein assumed that traveling by Portkey and Apparition were similar experiences (not having read Half-Blood Prince yet), but the fact remains that the passages he cited were clearly references to Portkeys, and he should've identified them as such, rather than referring to them as if they spoke of Apparition.

All in all the book was really enjoyable for someone who likes Harry Potter an awful lot and is really ignorant about philosophy. All of the essays referenced philosophers from throughout history and sparked my interest in some of their writings. I'd say that, for me, the book was an excellent portal into the expansive world of philosophy; after reading it, I'm really interested to learn more.

[Rebecca Boike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, this book was disappointing. I had read another book in this series on philosophy and pop culture (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which was excellent!) so this one was a huge let down in comparison. First off, it was clear that they published this prior to Rowling finishing the series (through book 5 it seems). Honestly, you all couldn't wait a couple more years so your thoughts and writings could come full circle??? As a result some of the essays make points that are not relevant or incorrect given what occurs in books 6 & 7. Also, these essays just felt so basic and uninteresting especially compared with the essays in the Buffy edition. Yawn.

[Kes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt like a strange mix between literature analysis and philosophy. Imagine someone taking a philosophical idea and applying it to Harry Potter, and you get this book.

There are sixteen chapters, divided into four houses. The first house, Gryffindor, deals with the ideas of virtue (centered around each character). So we deal with Harry Potter and courage, the Dursleys and self-deception, the variations of friendships shown in the books (Harry, Ron, and Hermione versus Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle), and feminism.

The second (Hufflepuff) deals with morality, the third, with evil (Slytherin), and the fourth, metaphysical philosophy (Ravenclaw).

It's a good introduction to philosophy, rendered readable by the philosophers. At the same time, I didn't feel that there was enough space to fully get into the philosophical concepts - though, that might render the book less introductory. It felt a bit like: this is the character, here is one lens for you to view the situation, and through the footnotes, you can find out more.

I did like the description of house-elf enslavement - it deals quite interestingly with our sense of duty, i.e.:

Secondly, it's true that the house-elf enslavement is a bad thing, but just because it is a bad thing doesn't mean that others have a duty to prevent it. After all, it's unreasonable to hold everyone to a duty to make the world a perfect place. People have to live their lives and can't go around crusading all the time. We have no more of a moral duty to prevent house-elf slavery than we do a duty to see that no one ever dies of heat exhaustion, or gets the flu. We must face the fact that there are some unpleasant features of life that we have to live with. It is simply too much to ask of people to require such altruism as would be needed to remedy such pervasive unpleasantness.

However, I thought this was interesting because I'm personally interested, and the footnote mentioning Being Good: A Short Introduction to Ethics helped point me in the right direction.

In short: good introductory text, shows you where to find something deeper.

[Carl]

A book like this -- in the line of the similarly engaging The Simpsons and Philosophy and The Matrix and Philosophy -- is clearly earning laurels when its reader's main complaint is that it doesn't cover all seven of the Potter books. Not only did I want to see the last two novels (published after this volume came out, in 2004) incorporated into its essayists' analysis but I also was seeing that doing so would clearly work. The intellectual imagination thus obviously kindled, the reader has little recourse but to say that the book was a success.

As might be expected, some of the essays herein are better than others. Two deficits spring to mind: a few rely on the Potter books only incidentally, which seems to be a fault of the editors', and a few are dull, which is lamentable. On the flipside, I found essays like "Magic, Muggles, and the Moral Imagination" and "Is Ambition a Virtue?" especially thought-provoking, embodying as they do both the capacity of philosophical writing to be rewardingly rigorous in its own right and the linkage between ideas and the real world that elevates not only good philosophy but also the Potter novels as a set.

I recommend this book, which is also full of fun and clever writing, to those who enjoyed Rowling's series and those who enjoy philosophy, and especially those who appreciate both.

[Mike Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book in a series that uses pop culture to spark discussion of philosophical ideas and subjects (see my reviews of Lost and Philosophy and Monty Python and Philosophy). This one focuses on the Harry Potter books, up to Order of the Phoenix (the last two Potter books had not been published when this book was).

I found this book a little easier to follow than the others in the series I'd read. This is partly because the Potter books are aimed at teen readers, so the philosophers who contributed essays to this collection also aimed at teen readers. The language is therefore a bit easier to follow and concepts are more clearly explained than is typical in "adult" philosophy. The essays look at topics like courage, morality (a particularly interesting essay on Harry's disregard for the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare discusses what makes one an immoral person), ambition, magic, the metaphysics of magical teleportation, and the difference between real experience and the illusions of the Mirror of Erised.

There are some really though-provoking ideas here, well and engagingly presented.

[Drake · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucks. Seriously the authors don't go directly to the point they want to make and instead repeat things that they've said before, making it confusing to understand. The authors also have a great lack of grammar skills, and they really need a lot of commas. It seems like they tried to get a really good thing going on, but it sounds confusing and repetitive. Another problem that many of my classmates found was that the authors were not well informed of the things that previous expects have said (such as Albert Einstein and Aristotle) so they twisted the things they had said and they ended up making no sense at all. And the thing that really bugged the crap out of me was that all the authors Loved to contradict themselves on the article that THEY wrote. So if your really into philosophy go ahead and waste your money, but if not, then this is a whole bunch of fan fiction/fans of Harry Potter that tried to sound fancy and well educated. And sorry authors if I offended you, but I feel like the public should know that this book is horrible. So, uh, yeah.

[Sophie Errington · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Harry Potter and I enjoy Philosophy, put them together and what have you got?

The structure of the articles into different houses based off the theme the article takes is very good because you could easily go back and find the specific article you found interesting.

However I did find myself leaning more towards the Slytherin and Ravenclaw chapters and one article within Gryffindor because the specific topics of evil, free will and ignorance really appealed to me. The other articles I didn't really find interesting.

Because each article is written by a different philosopher you do get an awareness of different scholars that you weren't aware of before. Although by having different authors the writing style was obviously not consistent which sometimes could make the articles difficult to read and understand making me shut off.

Overall it's an interesting book however the articles inside vary depending on the chosen theme and the writing style.

[Breanna Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me quite a long time to get through this book, and most of that is because the first section (titled Gryffindor) is not very thought provoking at all. That chapter dealt with "character" and was full of very obvious points that did not even seem like philosophy to me at all, but rather just common sense.
However, I did enjoy the middle two sections (Hufflepuff and Slytherin) that dealt more with morality. (I don't think I really enjoyed or agreed with most of the Ravenclaw "metaphysical" section though.)

As someone who studied philosophy in college and also grew up Christian (which is the main viewpoint of most of the authors), there wasn't anything new or groundbreaking for me in this book. Also some of the essays are quite weak in their arguments in my opinion. Despite this, I did really enjoy a few of the essays and it was a nice refresher on some of the more well known philosophers and their views.

[Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

C.S. Lewis once said, "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest." And so, the Harry Potter series not only contains good children's stories, but also great lessons and assessments of life. The authors and editors of this book (huge HP fans themselves)flesh out the extraordinary acts and ordinary truths within the series, revealing wisdom and inspiration equated with Aristotle and Kant's philosophies. The virtue of ambition, the necessity of love, the dangers of relative morality, and many other philosophical areas are discussed and plucked out of Harry Potter's deep and knowledgeable pages. A must-read for all HP fans! My only regret is that this book was published before the last two novels were finished; I would've loved to have heard what the authors would've said about them :)

[Gretchen Turonek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Give this one a miss. Potter fans will be disappointed at the inaccuracies and misconceptions about the series (not to mention that this was published before the series was concluded), and philosophy enthusiasts will be disappointed in the quality of thoughts. I minored in philosophy as an undergraduate and recognized a little too much of my rushed last-minute papers in these pages: I was shocked that these essays were penned and edited by graduate students and professors.

I could see a later, revised edition being a halfway decent philosophy primer for younger readers using the Potter series as a gateway. The names and ideas of philosophers were present and accounted for, and the ideas were on the whole simplistic and accessible. It's not a terribly sophisticated collection for the adult reader, though.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with any collection of essays, there was a range of good and...not so good. I'll rate the book as a whole a solid 3 stars because they did collect some really interesting subjects. The book is divided into the four houses and have organized the essays accordingly. Where the majority of the essays were well thought out, some were too much of a textbook to get into. It's also not the sort of book you can just sit down and dive into, it's far too academic. The essays only cover the Harry Potter series through the fifth book too and now that the series is long ended, it was annoying to wade through incorrect predictions. If you are inclined to pick this up, just sift through the topics that are of interest.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like any collection of essays, this one had its ups and downs. Some were very dry and textbook-like, some were informative and fun, and some were both funny and mind-numbing. Not a bad read for a Potter fan and a nice way to extend your knowledge on philosophy. The chapters on feminism in the world of HP and the pretty much the whole "Slytherin" section were very enjoyable. My biggest criticism is that they should have pumped the breaks and waited to put it out until after "Deathly Hallows" instead of jumping the gun and following "Order of the Pheonix". That being said, not a horrible book, but nothing I'll be picking up again for at least a long while.