Additional information
by Dean A. Kowalski (Author)
Featuring significant revisions and updates, Classic Questions and Contemporary Film: An Introduction to Philosophy, 2nd Edition uses popular movies as a highly accessible framework for introducing key philosophical concepts
- Explores 28 films with 18 new to this edition, including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Hotel Rwanda, V for Vendetta, and Memento
- Discusses numerous philosophical issues not covered in the first edition, including a new chapter covering issues of personal identity, the meaningfulness of life and death, and existentialism
- Offers a rich pedagogical framework comprised of key classic readings, chapter learning outcomes, jargon-free argument analysis, critical thinking and trivia questions, a glossary of terms, and textboxes with notes on the movies discussed
- Revised to be even more accessible to beginning philosophers
Back Jacket
"A great blend of classic sources, modern movies, and critical analysis. This is the perfect textbook for teaching and learning philosophy through film."
William Irwin, King's College, General Editor of the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series
"Dean Kowalski has produced a textbook that is both comprehensive and accessible to students. One of the marvelous qualities of the book is that it has high expectations of students. The selections of readings, the student guides, and, most impressively, the range of films discussed makes this an excellent introduction to philosophical thought and, equally important, a model for how to engage students with philosophy through the use of film. The latter takes real skill and Kowalski is an expert guide. The integration of a wide range of films along with the readings, exposition, and applications will provide any student with an excellent foundation in philosophy and should spark that wonder in students to which all philosophy classes aspire."
James B. South, Marquette University
Fully revised and updated, Classic Questions and Contemporary Film: An Introduction to Philosophy, Second Edition, aims to excite and motivate students to do philosophy by introducing them to core philosophical concepts through explorations of popular movies. The new edition includes discussion of eighteen additional films, including Inception, V for Vendetta, and Hotel Rwanda, and coverage of fresh topics such as rhetoric and sophistry, Plato's Republic, and religious experience. A new chapter on the human condition, which includes discussions of personal identity, the meaningfulness of life and death, and existentialism, has also been added. The features that made the first edition so successful have been kept and enhanced. Each chapter opens with a classic philosophical reading, and offers a rich pedagogical framework, including learning outcomes, jargon-free argument analysis, critical thinking and trivia questions, and textboxes with helpful notes on the movies discussed. These features provide readers with the tools they need to make the leap from reading about philosophy to doing philosophy. Engaging and thought-provoking, Classic Questions and Contemporary Film, Second Edition, offers a wealth of insights into the myriad critical philosophical issues raised in popular films.
Author Biography
Dean A. Kowalski is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha. He is the author of Classic Questions and Contemporary Film (2005) and Moral Theory at the Movies (2012). He is the editor of Steven Spielberg and Philosophy (2008), The Philosophy of The X-Files (2009), and The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy (Wiley, 2012), and the coeditor of The Philosophy of Joss Whedon (2011).
