Stephen Colbert and Philosophy: I Am Philosophy (and So Can You!)

289 Pages·2009·1.41 MB·English

by  Aaron Allen Schiller

P O P U L A R C U L T U R E A N D P H I L O S O P H Y ®
PHILOSOPHY / TV and FILM POPULAR CULTURE AND PHILOSOPHY®
S
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tephen T. Colbert, “This smart and lively crew gets it, which
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Ph.D., D.S.M., D.F.A., is to say, they are it-getters. They get
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is an inspiration to that Colbert is more than funny, and they L
billions of Americans. help all of us better understand that he L
What other man has much to teach us about the great E
could have won both philosophical debates of our times.” R
an Olympic gold — GEOFFREY BAYM, University of North
medal and the Carolina, Greensboro S
Nobel Peace T
Prize? “Media culpa! If Stephen Colbert E
interviewed Plato, what would
Sadly, until now, P
Socrates say? This romp through the
Dr. Colbert has H
great philosophers and philosophical
not received
adequate perspectives helps us understand the E
immortal question: How do we know
adulation by the N
stuff? No manual for wordinistas, this
intellectual elite, for
book shows us how philosophy offers
the simple reason that these ivy-covered C
useful correctives to the pitfalls of
invertebrates have no balls and therefore
truthiness in American life.” O
don’t get it.
— W. LANCE BENNETT, co-author of L
Meanwhile, Aaron Allen Schiller, under When the Press Fails: Political Power
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deep cover as a so-called “professor and the News Media from Iraq to
of philosophy,” has assembled a crack Katrina E
team of professional it-getters, with
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more balls than Obama’s inauguration.
“Not since Socrates, has a gadfly stung
They have clandestinely infiltrated the T
his State with so much irony. An
Americaphobic cloisters of academe,
American treasure, Stephen Colbert A
with but a single fixed and indomitable
is an audacious social philosopher at
purpose: to manufacture and release this N
heart—and here are the essays to prove
awesome weapon of mass destruction,
it. Readers with no background in D
Stephen Colbert and Philosophy. When
philosophy will find much truthiness in
the shock and awe die down, philosophy these pages, and see a whole new side P
will be set on its true course: uncovering
to their favorite satire.” H
and expounding the timeless insights of
— STEPHEN T. ASMA, author of The Gods
Stephen Colbert. I
Drink Whiskey L
Stephen Colbert and Philosophy is a
O STEPHEN
family-friendly product, with very little Aaron Allen Schiller is a baseball fan,
salacious or offensive content, in fact cyclist, longboarder, cat owner, and S C
almost none. Reluctance to purchase home brewer. He has reportedly told O
this book may possibly be a sign of some of his associates he “teaches
disloyalty to our great nation and will philosophy” at the University of P olbert
unnecessarily prolong the economic Wisconsin at Milwaukee. H
hard times.
Y
AND PHILOSOPHY
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Stephen Colbert
and Philosophy
Colbert and Philosophy 4/5/09 7:46 PM Page ii
Popular Culture and Philosophy®
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Colbert and Philosophy 4/5/09 7:46 PM Page iii
Popular Culture and Philosophy®
Stephen Colbert
and Philosophy
I Am Philosophy
(And So Can You!)
Edited by
AARON ALLEN SCHILLER
OPEN COURT
Chicago and LaSalle, Illinois
Colbert and Philosophy 4/5/09 7:46 PM Page iv
Volume 41 in the series, Popular Culture and Philosophy®,
edited by George A. Reisch
To order books from Open Court, call toll-free 1-800-815-2280, or visit our
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Printed and bound in the United States of America.
n: Joan Som
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stephen Colbert and philosophy : I am philosophy (and so can you!) /edited by
Aaron Allen Schiller.
p. cm.—(Popular culture and philosophy ; v. 41)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8126-9661-5 (trade paper : alk. paper)
1. Colbert, Stephen, 1964—Criticism and interpretation. I. Schiller, Aaron Allen,
1974
PN2287.C5695S35 2009
791.4502’8092—dc22
[B]
2008039722
Colbert and Philosophy 4/5/09 7:46 PM Page v
This book is dedicated to the Colbert Nation
Colbert and Philosophy 4/5/09 7:46 PM Page vi
Colbert and Philosophy 4/5/09 7:46 PM Page vii
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Philosophy for Heroes
AARON ALLEN SCHILLER xi
FIRST SEGMENT
The WØRD: First Principles of
Colbertian Philosophy
1
1. Colbert, Truthiness, and Thinking from the Gut
DAVID KYLE JOHNSON 3
2. Formidable Opponent and the Necessity of Moral Doubt
STEVEN GIMBEL 19
3. Things that Make You Go “What?”
ROBEN TOROSYAN 29
4. Philosophy at Play
RACHAEL SOTOS 51
5. No Need for the Wordinistas at Webster’s
JASON SOUTHWORTH 63
SECOND SEGMENT
The ThreatDown: Truthiness
75
6. Truth, Truthiness, and Bullshit for the American Voter
MATTHEW F. PIERLOTT 77
7. Truthiness of the Appearances
ETHAN MILLS 95
8. “The WØRD”: Fearless Speech and the Politics
of Language
MICHAEL TIBORIS and KORY SCHAFF 115
9. Philosophy in the Age of Truthiness
DAVID DETMER 131
vii
Colbert and Philosophy 4/5/09 7:46 PM Page viii
viii Contents
THIRD SEGMENT
Better Know a Philosopher
143
10. Is Stephen Colbert America’s Socrates?
MARK RALKOWSKI 145
11. Why Is Stephen Colbert So Funny?
SOPHIA STONE 163
12. Where Id Was, There Stephen Colbert Shall Be!
BRAD FRAZIER 179
13. Why Mr. Colbert Should Be President
NICOLAS MICHAUD 195
FINAL SEGMENT
What Colbert Tells Us about
Being America
205
14. Colorblindness and Black Friends in Stephen Colbert’s
America
AARON ALLEN SCHILLER 207
15. The Wealth of Colbert Nations
KURT SMITH 223
16. Freedom Isn’t Free, but Freem Is
MICHAEL F. PATTON, JR. and SAMANTHA WEBB 245
Take the Ishihara Race Test: See if You Are Colorblind
Like Stephen!
JOHN JACOBSON and JEFFREY GAUTHIER 259
Citizens of the Colbert Nation 263
Factinista’s Choice 269
Colbert and Philosophy 4/5/09 7:46 PM Page ix
Acknowledgments
F
irst and foremost, a big thank you to all the contributors. Your
hard work and dedication made this book possible. And your love
for the material made it fun and interesting. It was truly a pleasure
to work with each and every one of you!
Thanks to my editorial assistant, Dan Rosenberg, whose help is
visible on every page.
Thanks to the folks at Open Court—especially George A.
Reisch, David Ramsay Steele, and Cindy Pineo—for their advice,
support, and the chance.
Thanks to the folks at the many wonderful Colbert fan sites, in
particular No Fact Zone, for their detailed episode guide, Colbert
University, for their interesting character studies, and Colbert
Nation, for their lively forums.
Thanks to my colleagues, friends, and family for their guidance,
support, and encouragement. In particular: John Jacobson, Nina
Brewer-Davis, Jeff Schiller, Debbie Schiller, and Larry Schiller.
A special thanks to my adoring (and adored) wife, Denise
Helene Brauer Schiller, for always being right beside me.
And a big, American-sized thanks to Dr. Stephen T. Colbert,
D.F.A. On behalf of myself and the contributors, we hope you’ll
consider this the Number One Philosophy Book on all things
Colbert.
ix