Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Than Swords Author: Henry Jacoby | Language: English | ISBN:
1118161998 | Format: PDF
Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Than Swords Description
- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 13, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1118161998
- ISBN-13: 978-1118161999
- Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
This latest entry in the Wiley-Blackwell "Philosophy and Popular Culture" series is geared to coincide with the start of Season 2 of HBO's "Game of Thrones", based on George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy books. ***Although there are a number of excellent essays, there are also a number of severe defects and failings that make this entry in the series lackluster and disappointing. *** These defects are (1) spoilers, (2) unexplored relevant themes, (3) weak essays and inconsistent segmentation, and (4) the recognition of three very peculiar yet persistent phenomena that appear to plague collections of essays of this type.
SPOILERS
The "Editor's Note on Spoilers" advises "some readers" who are fans of the HBO series may not have read all five books upon which the series is based, and that they may wish to "delay reading" of six of the 20 chapters. First, most readers of this book most likely will only be fans of the HBO series, and not have read a single book, like myself. Asking them to "delay reading" almost one out of every three essays will most likely result in those essays never ever being read. For those readers that ignore this warning, the spoilers may be confusing at best, upsetting at worst. Second, I disagree with the Editor's Note that "[M]any of the philosophical quandaries can't be discussed without looking at events across the five books". Wrong. Everything covered in these essays is found in Season 1.
UNEXPLORED RELEVANT THEMES
I can think of two themes that should have been addressed in this book that were not. First off, where is the essay that deals with the morality of incest?
This book is okay, and perhaps that's saying too much. As a long time fan of political philosophy and the Song of Ice and Fire series, I had long speculated about the political, ethical, and psychological lessons of the series. I had half-jokingly dreamed of one day teaching a course called "Game of Thrones and Politics." I had also enjoyed another book in this series called the "Lord of the Rings and Philosophy." So, I eagerly bought this book when I saw it in a bookstore one day. Sadly, my impulse buy was a big mistake. The book suffers from two fatal mistakes, which basically negate its value. Firstly, I am not sure if the authors of the essays contained wherein read the series in its entirety, and if they did so, they read it in detail. Their essays are filled with cliches, platitudes, and generalizations about the series that could well apply to any number of characters from many other books. It is as if most of the essays are written to advocate the author's preexisting philosophy views, whatever those may be, with a couple of bones thrown to readers in the form of series references here and there.
Secondly, the book suffers from amateur and shallow essays that betray a lack of deep, nuanced, and even balanced philosophical thought on the part of its authors. In any case, for example, on page 214, we are met with the blanket statement, seemingly devoid of historical nuance that "medieval chivalry was homophobic, sexist, classist, ableist, and probably racist too." While there could possibly be an element of truth to something in that statement, the manner in which it is framed, without qualification, strikes me as rather amateur. And so on. This book is filled with many general philosophical statements.
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