Mark D. White 
Superman and Philosophy 
What Would the Man of Steel Do?

Go beyond the cape and into the mind of the Man of Steel, in
time for release of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel movie and
Superman’s 75th anniversary

He has thrilled millions for 75 years, with a legacy that
transcends national, cultural, and generational borders, but is
there more to the Man of Steel than just your average mythic
superhero in a cape? The 20 chapters in this book present a
fascinating exploration of some of the deeper philosophical
questions raised by Superman, the Last Son of Krypton and the
newest hero in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture
arsenal.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane …
It’s Philosophy! 1

Part One The Big Blue Boy Scout: Ethics, Judgment, and Reason
3

1 Moral Judgment: The Power That Makes Superman Human 5

Mark D. White

2 Action Comics! Superman and Practical Reason 16

Brian Feltham

3 Can the Man of Tomorrow Be the Journalist of Today? 26

Jason Southworth and Ruth Tallman

4 Could Superman Have Joined the Third Reich? The Importance and
Shortcomings of Moral Upbringing 37

Robert Sharp

Part Two Truth, Justice, and the American Way: What Do They
Mean? 47

5 Clark Kent Is Superman! The Ethics of Secrecy 49

Daniel P. Malloy

6 Superman and Justice 61

Christopher Robichaud

7 Is Superman an American Icon? 71

Andrew Terjesen

Part Three The Will to Superpower: Nietzsche, the
Übermensch, and Existentialism 83

8 Rediscovering Nietzsche’s Übermensch in Superman as
a Heroic Ideal 85

Arno Bogaerts

9 Superman or Last Man: The Ethics of Superpower 101

David Gadon

10 Superman: From Anti-Christ to Christ-Type 111

Adam Barkman

11 Superman Must Be Destroyed! Lex Luthor as Existentialist
Anti-Hero 121

Sarah K. Donovan and Nicholas Richardson

Part Four The Ultimate Hero: What Do We Expect from Superman?
131

12 Superman’s Revelation: The Problem of Violence in
Kingdom Come 133

David Hatfield

13 A World Without a Clark Kent? 145

Randall M. Jensen

14 The Weight of the World: How Much Is Superman Morally
Responsible For? 157

Audrey L. Anton

Part Five Superman and Humanity: A Match Made on Krypton?
169

15 Superman and Man: What a Kryptonian Can Teach Us About
Humanity 171

Leonard Finkelman

16 Can the Man of Steel Feel Our Pain? Sympathy and Superman
181

Andrew Terjesen

17 World’s Finest Philosophers: Superman and Batman on
Human Nature 194

Carsten Fogh Nielsen

Part Six Of Superman and Superminds: Who Is Superman, Anyway?
205

18 ‚It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s
… Clark Kent?‘ Superman and the Problem of Identity
207

Nicolas Michaud

19 Superman Family Resemblance 217

Dennis Knepp

20 Why Superman Should Not Be Able to Read Minds 225

Mahesh Ananth

Contributors: Trapped in the Philosophy Zone 237

Index: From Brainiac’s Files 243

Über den Autor

Mark D. White is chair of the Department of Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY, where he teaches courses in economics, philosophy, and law. He has edited and coedited many books in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, including Batman and Philosophy, Watchmen and Philosophy, Iron Man and Philosophy, and The Avengers and Philosophy.

William Irwin is Professor of Philosophy at King’s College in Pennsylvania. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including House and Philosophy, Batman and Philosophy, and Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy.