The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Aristotle, Locke (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series)

233 Pages·2009·1.19 MB·English

by  Dean Kowalski

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction: “Unraveling the Mysteries”
Part One: “It All Began on A Warm
Summer’s Evening in Greece”
Chapter 1: Aristotle on Sheldon Cooper
The Life of the Mind
The Ancient Greek and the Modern Geek
The Joy of Geekdom
Geeky Fun and the Purpose of Life
Trial of a Nerd
The Aristotle-Cooper Evaluation
Chapter 2: “You’re a Sucky, Sucky Friend”
“Do You Have Any Books about Making Friends?”
“Did You Ever Consider Making Friends by Being . . .
Pleasant?”
“Kripke! What’d You Say of the Idea of You and I Becoming
Friends?”
“To Make Friends . . . Take an Interest in Their Lives”
“That’s Insane on the Face of It”
“There Is No Algorithm for Making Friends!”
Chapter 3: The Big Bang Theory on the Use and Abuse
of Modern Technology
Some Healthy Webcam-ing
Unhealthy Interactions
Virtual Vengeance
Aristotle’s Mean
Aristotle in Television
Bright and Shiny Penny
Where Do We Go?
Part Two: “Is it Wrong To Say I Love Our
Killer Robot?”
Chapter 4: Feeling Bad about Feeling Good: Is It
Morally Wrong to Laugh at Sheldon?
Lorre and Prady on Sheldon Cooper
Diagnosing Sheldon III: Functionality
What Is a Disability?
Chapter 5: . . . But Is Wil Wheaton Evil?
The Wheaton Occurrences
The Theodicy Corollary
Beyond Good and Evil Wil—or, the Wrath of Sheldon
The Name-Calling and Line-Cutting Topologies
The Comic Book Paradigm
The Inscrutability Factor
Chapter 6: Do We Need a Roommate Agreement?
The Giant “Hedon” Collider
The Egoism Polarization
The Social Contract Instability
The Aristotelian Virtue Vortex
The Dennis Kim Conundrum
Part Three: “Perhaps You Mean A Different
Thing Than I Do When You Say ‘Science’”
Chapter 7: Getting Fundamental about Doing Physics
in The Big Bang Theory
Studies in Sheldonology
A Unified Theory of Sheldon?
Resolving a “Nonlovers” Quarrel (about Science)
The Pragmatics of the Special Sciences
Chapter 8: Sheldon, Leonard, and Leslie
The Methods of Science
Theoretical “Discoveries”
The String Theory Paradigm
Hang-Ups, Breakups, and New Beginnings
Chapter 9: The One Paradigm to Rule Them All
The Data
The Background
The Controversy
The Ramifications
The Analysis
Chapter 10: Cooper Considerations
Magic Maharaja Macs?
Scientist Sons Scolded
Monumental Math Mysteries
Lifelong Lessons
Part Four: “I Need Your Opinion on A
Matter of Semiotics”
Chapter 11: Wittgenstein and Language Games in The
Big Bang Theory
“The Philosophy Is Theoretical, but the Fun Is Real”
“So, What Does That Mean?”
“Be Serious, We’re Playing a Game Here”
“Figured Out the Magic Trick Yet?”
“It’s a Nonoptional Social Convention,” Stupid!
“Believe in Magic, You Muggle!”
Chapter 12: “I’m Afraid You Couldn’t Be More
Wrong!”
“More Wrong?”
“In None of Them Am I Dancing”
“I Think You Mean I’m Improbable”
The Cooper-Wrongness Paradox
“Of Course I’m Right—What Are the Odds I’d Be Wrong
Twice in One Week?”
“Throw All the French around You Want, It Doesn’t Make
You Right.”
Chapter 13: The Cooper Conundrum
Who’s Tolerating Whom?
Worlds Apart or Words Apart?
The Mutual Exclusion Dogma
World Speak or Person Speak
The Tolerance Tally
Chapter 14: The Mendacity Bifurcation
Should We Be Learning How to Lie Better?
Should We Listen to What Sheldon Has to Say about Lying?
Is Sheldon Really a Bad Liar?
Does Lying Require Intending to Deceive?
Does Lying Require Intending to Violate a Social Convention?
Part Five: “The Human Experience That Has
Always Eluded Me”
Chapter 15: Mothers and Sons of The Big Bang Theory
Raj: The “Selective Mutism” Mutant
Sheldon: Roots in Fundamental(ist) Particles
Howard: A Sociological Cliché
Leonard: Hofstadter’s Monkey
Aristotle, Justice, and Special Obligations
Cognitive Dissonance and Psychological Courage
Chapter 16: Penny, Sheldon, and Personal Growth
through Difference
Are Penny and Sheldon Really Friends?
Penny’s and Sheldon’s Friendship and the Importance of
Difference
Modern and Classical Friendship
Good Friendship and Good Friends
Chapter 17: Deconstructing the Women of The Big
Bang Theory: So Much More Than Girlfriends
The Big Bang Gender Theory
“It’s a Warm Summer Evening in Ancient Greece . . .”
The Big Bang Performativity
“Come for the Breasts—Stay for the Brains.”
Knock Knock . . . Manhood? Knock Knock . . . Manhood?
Knock Knock . . . Manhood?
White and Fisher Productions #1
The Episode Compendium: “Hey, It’s a Big Menu—
There’s Two Pages Just for Desserts”
Contributors: “But If We Were Part of the Team . . . We
Could Drink for Free in Any Bar in Any College Town”
Index: “Cornucopia . . . Let’s Make That Our Word of
the Day”

The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture
Series
Series Editor: William Irwin
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