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Popular Culture and Philosophy #49
Zombies, Vampires, and Philosophy: New Life for the Undead
Since 1968's Night of the Living Dead, zombie culture has steadily limped and clawed its way into the center of popular culture. Today, zombies and vampires have taken over TV shows, comic books, cartoons, video games, and movies. Zombies, Vampires, and Philosophy drags the theories of famous philosophers like Socrates and Descartes into the territory of the undead, exploring questions Why do vampires and vegetarians share a similar worldview? Why is understanding zombies the key to health care reform? And what does "healthy in mind and body" mean for vampires and zombies? Answers to these questions and more await readers brave enough to make this fun, philosophical foray into the undead.
This is an updated and expanded edition of The Undead and Philosophy. It contains a number of new articles and additional front-matter.
This is an updated and expanded edition of The Undead and Philosophy. It contains a number of new articles and additional front-matter.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 29, 2006
17 people are currently reading
465 people want to read
About the author
Richard V. Greene
6 books7 followersRichard V. Greene is a Professor of Philosophy at Weber State University. He is involved with research in metaphysics, the history of modern philosophy, medical ethics, and philosophical topics related to pop culture. He is also the Executive Director of the Society for Skeptical Studies, a philosophical society formed to promote discussion and research on topics related to skepticism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
November 5, 2010
I am a fan of horror fiction. In particular I have been extremely fascinated with both movies and books related to zombies lately. Vampires are another lesser fascination for me. Overall, the undead and the darkness they represent to humanity is a intriguing subject.
For years I have pondered the significance of the movies of Romero and the societal implications of his great works. Apparently I have only scratched the surface compared to the varied philosophical thinkers that delve into the concept into this book.
Lets get beyond asking whether or not the undead exist, lets ask whether they have the right to exist, to feed on human beings, if they are morally responsible for their actions and what we as human beings should accept from those who have returned from the grave. This books dives right in with a wide variety of philosophical pundits.
Never before have I experienced the broad range of analysis on the undead and their meaning to us as human beings: why there is a need to create such revenants, how they reflect our own desires and needs, and what role they play in our lives.
While the authors do tie the undead discussion in with a tremendous range of significant thinkers of the philsophical world, this is definitely not dry text book material. It is extremely topical and certainly would be a subject for a class I would be in line to take if I were once again a college student. The storybook and movie references range from Bram Stoker's Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the blood-sucker side of the house and Romero as well as several of the zombie spin-off movies and books. I was impressed at the knowledge demonstrated-references to a variety of books and films were made that I certainly would not have expected.
Very informative and often profound, this book gave me a great deal more appreciation for topics that I felt I already had a tremendous respect and fondness for. Now when one of my friends who feels that more "mainstream" movies and books have more societal relevance I can dazzle them with key topics of discussion mulled over in this remarkable work and blow their minds with debates that are just not possible with just us mere mortals in the equation.
For years I have pondered the significance of the movies of Romero and the societal implications of his great works. Apparently I have only scratched the surface compared to the varied philosophical thinkers that delve into the concept into this book.
Lets get beyond asking whether or not the undead exist, lets ask whether they have the right to exist, to feed on human beings, if they are morally responsible for their actions and what we as human beings should accept from those who have returned from the grave. This books dives right in with a wide variety of philosophical pundits.
Never before have I experienced the broad range of analysis on the undead and their meaning to us as human beings: why there is a need to create such revenants, how they reflect our own desires and needs, and what role they play in our lives.
While the authors do tie the undead discussion in with a tremendous range of significant thinkers of the philsophical world, this is definitely not dry text book material. It is extremely topical and certainly would be a subject for a class I would be in line to take if I were once again a college student. The storybook and movie references range from Bram Stoker's Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the blood-sucker side of the house and Romero as well as several of the zombie spin-off movies and books. I was impressed at the knowledge demonstrated-references to a variety of books and films were made that I certainly would not have expected.
Very informative and often profound, this book gave me a great deal more appreciation for topics that I felt I already had a tremendous respect and fondness for. Now when one of my friends who feels that more "mainstream" movies and books have more societal relevance I can dazzle them with key topics of discussion mulled over in this remarkable work and blow their minds with debates that are just not possible with just us mere mortals in the equation.
June 6, 2010
This book basically questions why we as a society totally and unquestioningly disenfranchise and devalue zombies and vampires by labeling them as "evil," "immoral" and worthy of any negative treatment in the art of cinema. The essays were so entertaining! Actually, I'm surprised there aren't any other books that do what this one does- intellectualizing the nature of creepy subjects of horror movies. Essays are well thought out existential justifications for the acceptance of the Undead into a (hypothetical) mainstream human society. The authors describe actions of the Undead that are seemingly malevolent (i.e. vampires' need for blood, zombies' preference for human guts) and using basic philosophical tenets to methodically dismantle the negative ideas which contribute to how we fundamentally misunderstand the Undead.
I mean, honestly, is a zombie really a ungodly creature of the night for merely fulfilling a inherent desire that we humans have, namely, eating food to ensure continued existence!? Also who is to say that zombies do not differ from us humans? We can certainly function like zombies-going through life with minimal thinking and automatic motions of eating sleeping...
I mean, honestly, is a zombie really a ungodly creature of the night for merely fulfilling a inherent desire that we humans have, namely, eating food to ensure continued existence!? Also who is to say that zombies do not differ from us humans? We can certainly function like zombies-going through life with minimal thinking and automatic motions of eating sleeping...
September 21, 2010
(I assigned this book for my Fall 2010 freshman seminar: 'Vampires, Zombies, and Philosophy')
I think the entire [insert pop-culture reference] and Philosophy genre is a silly attempt by publishers to move units in an otherwise low-volume discipline. What's worse, these books are mostly populated by a combination of grad-school drop-outs and feeble attempts to squeeze one last publication in for the tenure committee. That being said, I did not expect very much out of this book, so I wasn't too disappointed.
I think the entire [insert pop-culture reference] and Philosophy genre is a silly attempt by publishers to move units in an otherwise low-volume discipline. What's worse, these books are mostly populated by a combination of grad-school drop-outs and feeble attempts to squeeze one last publication in for the tenure committee. That being said, I did not expect very much out of this book, so I wasn't too disappointed.
March 9, 2014
I bought this book as a joke for a friend, because we are both big fans of zombies, then of course begged him to let me borrow it so I could read it. It turned out to be a surprisingly erudite discussion of an enormous variety of philosophical traditions that took me right back to my undergraduate days at Marquette University. Using zombies and vampires as their starting point, nineteen professors/Ph.D. candidates from as many universities get into some pretty deep philosophical waters as they construct arguments around issues like the nature of Evil, the mind vs. the body, and hedonism.
Back in my day, everyone had to take at least three philosophy classes to graduate, and so we all took our turns parsing the Greats, from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and Plato’s Republic through Kant, Nietzsche and Heidegger. As the various authors in this anthology dig into their chosen topics, they reference all of these philosophers and many more, along with famed modern experts like George Romero, Ridley Scott and Joss Whedon.
The first chapter alone cites Epicurus, Thomas Nagel, Bernard Williams, and John Stuart Mill. The second chapter contrasts a psychological approach to identity vs. a physiological approach and cites Descartes and Locke in arguing that bodily continuity is sufficient for personal identity—otherwise, why would we find zombies so scary? The author of chapter three also looks to Locke to help answer the question why in movies it is deemed acceptable to simply slaughter the zombies (do we need to create PETZ, a society for the Protection and Ethical Treatment of Zombies?). The author in chapter four introduced me to instrumental and non-instrumental motives and used examples like Sauron and Hannibal Lecter to make his points. Chapter five reminded me strongly of some of Kurzweil’s writings on the Singularity and chapter six enlightened me as to Heidegger’s Nazi leanings which nonetheless serve up a possible interpretation of Dracula as a symbol for the “unpure” among us. Chapter seven examines consumerism and chapter eight introduces Freud’s theory of the uncanny, which is taken up by several other authors in later chapters. The concept of the “philosophical zombie,” totally new to me (and which made me think of Cylons in the Battlestar Galactica reboot), is used in chapter nine to make a point about moral responsibility toward zombies and chapter ten extends the argument to vampires, and any other entities capable of self-conscious moral reflection. Chapter eleven was one of my favorite chapters, and the first time I have taken seriously an argument in favor of vegetarianism. The authors of chapters twelve and thirteen use vampires to explain the “hedonistic paradox” and the apparent benefits of vampirism, respectively, with multiple references to Epicurus, Ann Rice and even Thoreau.
The final chapters in the book were delightful in that they were not at all what I expected to find in a book about philosophy. Chapter fourteen uses economic frameworks to propose different ways in which vampires and humans might learn to co-exist. Chapter fifteen begins with accounts of real-life vampires and witches in history, implying that these beings appear at times of political and religious turmoil, fear and insecurity. The writings of Rousseau provide some reasons for why this happens, and the entire chapter resonates with our post-9/11 world’s vilification of LGBT folks, Muslims, immigrants, etc. as dangerous things to be feared and controlled. Chapter sixteen returns to the question of the undead as representatives of unbridled hedonism and uses Freud to discuss issues of repression and the rejection of authority. Chapter seventeen, one of only two written by women, uses Thomas Hobbes’s theory of the social contract and Romero’s zombie film oeuvre to answer the question of whether individualism or communitarianism is the superior political philosophy. Chapter 18 seeks to debunk the Fruedian (AKA sexual) interpretation of our love of horror in popular entertainment. The final chapter (written by the anthology’s second female author) deals with the philosophy of aesthetics as it relates to vampires. There’s a short history of aesthetics from Pythagorus to Plato, Aristotle and Kant, but what I found it interesting was the inclusion of feminist philosophers like Susan Bordo and Sandra Lee Bartky to talk about the ways in which various cultures through history have treated women’s bodies not as naturally beautiful, but instead as something to be regulated, molded and ornamented in order to be accepted as normal. The author observes that while both male and female vampires are invariably stunningly beautiful, sexually voracious and deadly, it is only the female vampires who deliver a cautionary message that women who are both bad and beautiful do not live happily ever after, even if they are immortal.
This book, with its many references to great philosophers both ancient and modern, could easily serve as a textbook for a serious philosophy class. As is stated in the introduction, there is a long history of using pop culture examples to illustrate difficult or abstract philosophical concepts. Using zombies and vampires to think about death, identity, morality, racism and even economics and politics made for a great read, one that could really hook college students into enjoying this normally daunting field of study.
Back in my day, everyone had to take at least three philosophy classes to graduate, and so we all took our turns parsing the Greats, from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and Plato’s Republic through Kant, Nietzsche and Heidegger. As the various authors in this anthology dig into their chosen topics, they reference all of these philosophers and many more, along with famed modern experts like George Romero, Ridley Scott and Joss Whedon.
The first chapter alone cites Epicurus, Thomas Nagel, Bernard Williams, and John Stuart Mill. The second chapter contrasts a psychological approach to identity vs. a physiological approach and cites Descartes and Locke in arguing that bodily continuity is sufficient for personal identity—otherwise, why would we find zombies so scary? The author of chapter three also looks to Locke to help answer the question why in movies it is deemed acceptable to simply slaughter the zombies (do we need to create PETZ, a society for the Protection and Ethical Treatment of Zombies?). The author in chapter four introduced me to instrumental and non-instrumental motives and used examples like Sauron and Hannibal Lecter to make his points. Chapter five reminded me strongly of some of Kurzweil’s writings on the Singularity and chapter six enlightened me as to Heidegger’s Nazi leanings which nonetheless serve up a possible interpretation of Dracula as a symbol for the “unpure” among us. Chapter seven examines consumerism and chapter eight introduces Freud’s theory of the uncanny, which is taken up by several other authors in later chapters. The concept of the “philosophical zombie,” totally new to me (and which made me think of Cylons in the Battlestar Galactica reboot), is used in chapter nine to make a point about moral responsibility toward zombies and chapter ten extends the argument to vampires, and any other entities capable of self-conscious moral reflection. Chapter eleven was one of my favorite chapters, and the first time I have taken seriously an argument in favor of vegetarianism. The authors of chapters twelve and thirteen use vampires to explain the “hedonistic paradox” and the apparent benefits of vampirism, respectively, with multiple references to Epicurus, Ann Rice and even Thoreau.
The final chapters in the book were delightful in that they were not at all what I expected to find in a book about philosophy. Chapter fourteen uses economic frameworks to propose different ways in which vampires and humans might learn to co-exist. Chapter fifteen begins with accounts of real-life vampires and witches in history, implying that these beings appear at times of political and religious turmoil, fear and insecurity. The writings of Rousseau provide some reasons for why this happens, and the entire chapter resonates with our post-9/11 world’s vilification of LGBT folks, Muslims, immigrants, etc. as dangerous things to be feared and controlled. Chapter sixteen returns to the question of the undead as representatives of unbridled hedonism and uses Freud to discuss issues of repression and the rejection of authority. Chapter seventeen, one of only two written by women, uses Thomas Hobbes’s theory of the social contract and Romero’s zombie film oeuvre to answer the question of whether individualism or communitarianism is the superior political philosophy. Chapter 18 seeks to debunk the Fruedian (AKA sexual) interpretation of our love of horror in popular entertainment. The final chapter (written by the anthology’s second female author) deals with the philosophy of aesthetics as it relates to vampires. There’s a short history of aesthetics from Pythagorus to Plato, Aristotle and Kant, but what I found it interesting was the inclusion of feminist philosophers like Susan Bordo and Sandra Lee Bartky to talk about the ways in which various cultures through history have treated women’s bodies not as naturally beautiful, but instead as something to be regulated, molded and ornamented in order to be accepted as normal. The author observes that while both male and female vampires are invariably stunningly beautiful, sexually voracious and deadly, it is only the female vampires who deliver a cautionary message that women who are both bad and beautiful do not live happily ever after, even if they are immortal.
This book, with its many references to great philosophers both ancient and modern, could easily serve as a textbook for a serious philosophy class. As is stated in the introduction, there is a long history of using pop culture examples to illustrate difficult or abstract philosophical concepts. Using zombies and vampires to think about death, identity, morality, racism and even economics and politics made for a great read, one that could really hook college students into enjoying this normally daunting field of study.
February 10, 2008
Zombies can make you think...assuming they aren't already eating your brain. A zombie outbreak may make you question your survival skills (maybe you should have worked harder for that fire building merit badge). They might help you decide to go to the gym more often. Do you really think you could run a mile and still have the breath to wield that cricket bat effectively? In "The Undead and Philosophy",zombies make you think about morality, accountability, and other heady subjects.
Thought experiments are a time honored tradition in philosophy. In order to see our own world with fresh eyes, it can be useful to look at a world that doesn't exist at all. Zombies are humans stripped of various aspects of "humanity". Examining their actions helps us decipher what we really believe about our own.
"The Undead and Philosophy" is a collection of various papers about zombies (movie type)/zombies (philosophical type)/vampires/and other strange beings. Many of these articles were thought-provoking. However, the book in unbalanced. The authors took such varied approaches to the subject that some papers felt like they should be in a totally different volume.
I liked this book. It made me think. When the zombie infestation finally hits San Diego, I'll take a moment to contemplate whether or not I blame the walking corpse that is gnawing on my jugular.
Thought experiments are a time honored tradition in philosophy. In order to see our own world with fresh eyes, it can be useful to look at a world that doesn't exist at all. Zombies are humans stripped of various aspects of "humanity". Examining their actions helps us decipher what we really believe about our own.
"The Undead and Philosophy" is a collection of various papers about zombies (movie type)/zombies (philosophical type)/vampires/and other strange beings. Many of these articles were thought-provoking. However, the book in unbalanced. The authors took such varied approaches to the subject that some papers felt like they should be in a totally different volume.
I liked this book. It made me think. When the zombie infestation finally hits San Diego, I'll take a moment to contemplate whether or not I blame the walking corpse that is gnawing on my jugular.
July 18, 2015
When I reviewed Game of Thrones and Philosophy, I complained that the book was just out to explain philosophical concepts, and it’s tie to the ostensible subject rested solely on using a few names and events for illustrations. In The Undead and Philosophy, on the other hand, the subject matter is much more integrated in the articles – each chapter using the Undead to discuss things like issues of personhood, or the relationship between desires/impulses and civilization.
In some cases, it worked really well and I felt that my consumption of the Undead genre was enriched by the thoughtfulness of the article (such as “Heidegger the Vampire Slayer: The Undead and Fundamental Ontology” by Adam Barrows). Others were just uninteresting. And still others were simply hilarious – such as the article that argued that zombies are giant erections with vagina mouths (“The Undead Martyr: Sex, Death, and Revolution in George Romero’s Zombie Films” by Simon Clark).
I can’t really think of the right audience for this book. I think that anyone with an interest in philosophy will either already be familiar with all of the concepts or will be able to find a much better introduction. Zombie and vampire aficionados may well be enriched by some of the new perspectives, but I don’t think it’s worth the price of the whole book. Maybe this is just one of those books that libraries were made for.
In some cases, it worked really well and I felt that my consumption of the Undead genre was enriched by the thoughtfulness of the article (such as “Heidegger the Vampire Slayer: The Undead and Fundamental Ontology” by Adam Barrows). Others were just uninteresting. And still others were simply hilarious – such as the article that argued that zombies are giant erections with vagina mouths (“The Undead Martyr: Sex, Death, and Revolution in George Romero’s Zombie Films” by Simon Clark).
I can’t really think of the right audience for this book. I think that anyone with an interest in philosophy will either already be familiar with all of the concepts or will be able to find a much better introduction. Zombie and vampire aficionados may well be enriched by some of the new perspectives, but I don’t think it’s worth the price of the whole book. Maybe this is just one of those books that libraries were made for.
January 6, 2011
I'm not sure where my love of the zombie began, or the vampire for that matter, but I do find them to be extremely interesting in relation to society. How they reflect ourselves, idealized and grotesque depending on what film, novel, etc. one happens to read. To read essays that go into why these creatures are symbolic to society on various levels was really, really interesting.
I would've given the book a higher rating, but the essays were hit or miss with me. I know enough basic philosophy that I was able to read it without much problem, but some works were more technical than others. My favorite essay, though, compared Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (though mostly through the film Bladerunner) with the idea of zombies. Not only was it thoughtful and thought provoking, it was written with a great sense of humor.
I always enjoy reading things like this. Whether its zombies, Harry Potter, or Alice in Wonderful, so much has now become iconic and it's interesting to read someone's thoughts on why that might be. It's probably not for everyone in regard to buying, but to borrow from the library or a friend wouldn't be a bad way to go.
I would've given the book a higher rating, but the essays were hit or miss with me. I know enough basic philosophy that I was able to read it without much problem, but some works were more technical than others. My favorite essay, though, compared Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (though mostly through the film Bladerunner) with the idea of zombies. Not only was it thoughtful and thought provoking, it was written with a great sense of humor.
I always enjoy reading things like this. Whether its zombies, Harry Potter, or Alice in Wonderful, so much has now become iconic and it's interesting to read someone's thoughts on why that might be. It's probably not for everyone in regard to buying, but to borrow from the library or a friend wouldn't be a bad way to go.
December 31, 2008
Not a light read! An excellent philosophical look at a fictional situation and why we view it the way we do. The book delves into such topics and when exactly does death occur and what would make someone undead. Does the soul departing mean loss of a person or because there is corporeal continuity would the undead individual remain the same person.
Not exactly a bedtime read unless you enjoy deep reading that requires you to pay attention. This book is however an interesting massage for the brain.
I highly recommend this book!
Not exactly a bedtime read unless you enjoy deep reading that requires you to pay attention. This book is however an interesting massage for the brain.
I highly recommend this book!
October 14, 2014
First of let me say that I didn't read all of the essays in this book.
I skipped the ones about vampires, because my class is about zombies.
There are some really good essays in this book and perhaps I will write a little more when I finished my assignment for university.
Let me just say, that the thought about philosophical zombies fighting as gladiators and what it would do to our community is really interesting.
And all the essays about Romero help a lot about understanding the development of the zombie.
I skipped the ones about vampires, because my class is about zombies.
There are some really good essays in this book and perhaps I will write a little more when I finished my assignment for university.
Let me just say, that the thought about philosophical zombies fighting as gladiators and what it would do to our community is really interesting.
And all the essays about Romero help a lot about understanding the development of the zombie.
June 15, 2015
This book aligns vampires and zombies into a study of the undead. Unlike the other books in the emerging genre of Zombie Studies, there is attention to the Philosophy Zombies, the philosophers to take the zombie as a real - if undead - theoretical experiment.
As with all edited collections, the book is uneven, but there are no disastrous chapters. The scholarship is solid and offers the foundation for future work.
As with all edited collections, the book is uneven, but there are no disastrous chapters. The scholarship is solid and offers the foundation for future work.
May 21, 2008
I was tempted to give this 2 stars, but that would have been completely unfair. It's interesting and fairly well written, it just took itself a little to seriously for what I was looking for. Looking at it for what it is, which is written in a nearly text book format, it deserves 3 stars.
June 27, 2008
Curious essays written by college students concerning philosophical principles as illustrated by pop culture. (For example: the meaning of free will - the morality of killing zombies, etc...) Amusing.
July 25, 2011
For someone ho doesn't know much about philosophy, this was an entertaining read. It's nice to read intellect discussions from academics who also really love their horror films and tv shows. Thank you for proving that not all horror fans are stupid teens.
December 13, 2012
Very interesting book to read, different. I enjoy the whole process of breaking down each zombie and vampire myth, movie and story. Very entertaining to read if you can handle the vocabulary and if you enjoy the subject of zombies and vampires.
December 24, 2018
Well. At least I never took philosophy.
The content was fine, honestly. I enjoy the analysis of what vampires and zombies mean to us. The individual arguments were cyclical and just plain annoying after a while.
The content was fine, honestly. I enjoy the analysis of what vampires and zombies mean to us. The individual arguments were cyclical and just plain annoying after a while.
Want to read
December 5, 2008Saw this as a five-star review in Brandon's list and immediately added it to my Amazon.com wishlist.
July 29, 2008
Just bought it on half(dot)com. Hoping it's as good as Aaron intimated...
May 21, 2008
Interesting essays on vampires, ghosts, zombies, etc. Even if not a fan of horror, the essay on the 'philosophical zombie' is fascinating.
December 1, 2010
not just a book about zombies and vampires, but a collection of interesting arguments on death and embodiment. through the lens of fantasy we have much to learn about the reality in which we live.
December 10, 2011
Some of the chapters were a stretch, but some were definitely intriguing. Mostly, it made me miss writing!
Read
June 23, 2012I LOVE the articles in this anthology, especially since vampires are so in these days. I've been a long time fan of vampire mythology and will someday use this in a vampire lit class.
September 20, 2013
I loved this book. I used it in my research for my senior seminar project, "Highbrow Horror: The Value of the Flesh-Eating Zombie as a Metaphor in Pop-Culture."
December 7, 2018
i like i like seriously i like
January 1, 2019
Skimmed. Not horrible, but not one of the stronger titles in the series.
April 27, 2021
I’ve been meaning to come back to this book for years. I first picked it up as required reading for a Zombies and literature class in undergrad and enjoyed the few chapters we had to read. Now, over a decade later, I do still enjoy the same chapters. From pulling apart Romero’s movies to dissecting Buffy and Lestat as pop culture phenomena, it’s terribly fun to read an analysis of zombies and vampires from the views of both classical and modern philosophers. That being said, much of the book is hit or miss for me.
On the one hand, it’s dense, especially for those with little background in philosophy. This isn’t a book you’d pick up to read through in an afternoon. There is a lot of repetition that could have been edited out, which I feel is often the case when such collections include work from graduate students. I also think it could have been organized a bit better and would have benefited from having a glossary of repeated terms for us plebeians.
On the other hand, that chapter on Freud likening the stiff gait of zombies to swollen erections will forever have me cackling.
On the one hand, it’s dense, especially for those with little background in philosophy. This isn’t a book you’d pick up to read through in an afternoon. There is a lot of repetition that could have been edited out, which I feel is often the case when such collections include work from graduate students. I also think it could have been organized a bit better and would have benefited from having a glossary of repeated terms for us plebeians.
On the other hand, that chapter on Freud likening the stiff gait of zombies to swollen erections will forever have me cackling.
November 28, 2024
Very few of the philosophical essays in this collection really struck me as being overly insightful. I often felt as if the majority of these essays were just focusing on philosophical principals I learned about in Psych 101 in college, while only lightly applying the lens of the undead. And, the alluded to philosophy and subtext embedded in many of the fiction pieces that are used as reference points (such as Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead”) were more powerful in how the viewer had to interpret the deeper meanings, rather than having the underlying, core ideologies outlined in essay form.
March 12, 2021
All together very enjoyable. The philosophical arguments are all at an introductory level, so I think folks without a philosophy background will enjoy it. At the same time, folks with a philosophy background might enjoy seeing some of these ideas being applied in new and (candidly) sort of disturbing ways. Some of the arguments could have been better fleshed out, but I think that ultimately this book will leave you wanting to dig deeper on the discussions contained.
May 8, 2023
A collection of essays on the Undead, as such, there will always be a variation in quality and interest. I felt more up-to-date; no mention of the Walking Dead comic (TV show had not been released by the publication date.)
If you re interested in popular culture and philosophy its worth a read. If your interest is just in passing, then not for you.
If you re interested in popular culture and philosophy its worth a read. If your interest is just in passing, then not for you.
February 9, 2021
It was a nice and easy to comprehend read for someone who isn't interested in learning philosophy right out of the classic writers. I'm looking forward to reading other titles with the same premise, although I'm not 100% convinced of reading other books in the same series.
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