Superheroes and philosophy

[Sammy Boy]

Hi guys,

Yep, the thread title says it all.

For those of you who like to think about the relationship between comic superheroes and philosophy, you may want to check out this book:

http://www.opencourtbooks.com/books_n/superheroes.htm

Cheers.

[uc pseudonym]

That looks interesting. Reading some of those reviews is worthwhile as well, because though they praise the book some of them have their tongues in their cheeks from time to time.

[mitsuki lover]

Interesting idea.Or do you suppose he just wanted an excuse to break out his old
comic book collection?
On the other hand let's not forget such works as The Parables of Peanuts and also
The Gospel According To Peanuts that took serious look at theology through the lens of Charles Schultz' popular Peanuts characters.

[Sammy Boy]

I think it's really great that authors can offer this perspective to those interested in comics and other kinds of popular culture. Gets us thinking about the deeper issues, which I think is always good.

I think I'm going to place an order for that book with my comic shop...

[Cap'n Nick]

Superheroes work well with philosophy because just about any situation involving them can be taken to its logical (or impossible) extreme. The American comics that I've seen lately are tapping into this with great fervor, although I will say that the "issues" they raise are often artificial or distorted, giving more the pretense and self-importance of philosophy than actual practice.

[mitsuki lover]

Green Arrow is probably the most philosophical superhero I can think of.

[Maledicte]

Green Arrow is probably the most philosophical superhero I can think of.

In the DC universe, it would probably be Anarky (referred to by his creators as an "Aristotle in tights".)

[Zane]

Green Arrow is probably the most philosophical superhero I can think of.

Why? Because he's a socialist?
I havn't read much of Oliver McQueen.

[mitsuki lover]

Oliver is pretty political, he's an avowed Leftist.Interesting since like Bruce he's
a multimillionaire.I don't view Anarky as a Superhero but rather as a Superpest.
As his name suggests he's an Anarchist and not a Socialist.There is a difference.
However since this is about Superheroes philospohy and not there politics I shall
quit before this thread gets in trouble.

[Zane]

Well no because socialism is a philosophical view point as it is political. So your okay. A philosophical socialism is similar to that of wanting/doing whats best for all people at all times, which is correct me if I get this mixed up; utilitarianism. I.e. of the 2 major ethics train of thoughts you have what is good based on the end, so the end justifies the means, under which this socialist would come. And you have whats good based on the actual act of what you've just done.

So really The Green Arrow would not hesitate to kill a bad guy if it is for the general good of society, while say... Batman wouldn't because he woud lean more towards the other train of thought being that the actual act of killing a man, no matter what the outcome will be, good or bad, is wrong.

Naturally Christians have to balance that desire of wanting to do whats best for the greater good with only using good, as commanded in the Bible, actions and means. Interesting.

[Sammy Boy]

Naturally Christians have to balance that desire of wanting to do whats best for the greater good with only using good, as commanded in the Bible, actions and means. Interesting.

Yes, the ends do not justify all means, and certainly not evil ones.

In situations where two principles conflict, such as whether to tell a lie and so to save a life, I think most Christians would probably lie to save a life (assuming we're talking about a victim of some kind). This would be graded absolutism or "the lesser of the two evils", depending on your outlook.

Utilitarianism is concerned with the good of the majority (i.e. "most people"). So this means the minority gets neglected. An additional problem is that people have trouble agreeing upon the definition of "good".

[uc pseudonym]

Of course, it should be noted that even if philosophies are non-political (which, in the case of socialism, is debateable) they could still run afoul of the "No theological debate" rule. At the moment I feel this discussion is perfectly fine, but you must understand that it does open the possibility of someone coming into the thread and ranting. However, that's unlikely due to the title of the thread.

[mitsuki lover]

We should also consider how much the superheroes own religious outlook and beliefs have to do with their philosophical beliefs.

[Zane]

Cheers for that UC.

Yes, you're right Mitsuki lover; but unless a superheroes religious beliefs are heavily ingrained into their character, say Nigthcrawler being a catholic for example. Writers usually depending on their own beliefs emphasis or leave out those superheroes religious beliefs, because of their own distaste for religion or whatever. But rightly a superheros religious beliefs do influence their philosophical outlook on life. But more often then not, most superheros don't have a religious belief, does Superman (being an alien aswell) or Batman or Spiderman have any belief in God other then a brief superficial prayer and cultrual afficliation to church not really.

[uc pseudonym]

I agree that most superheroes have only superficial ties to a particular faith. In real life faith should primarily be judged by actions, and for the most part religion has little impact upon the lives of most superheroes. I have yet to see any of them experience religious guilt, though most have cultural "good moral values" that cause similar feelings.

However, we should probably mention The Spectre. Religion definitely played a role with him.

[mitsuki lover]

I think I mentioned this before but Adherents.com has a list of Superheroes and
Supervillians and their religious affiliations.