Mark D. White & Robert Arp 
Batman and Philosophy 
The Dark Knight of the Soul

Why doesn’t Batman just kill the Joker and end everyone’s
misery?

Can we hold the Joker morally responsible for his actions?

Is Batman better than Superman?

If everyone followed Batman’s example,

would Gotham be a better place?

What is the Tao of the Bat?

Batman is one of the most complex characters ever to appear in
comic books, graphic novels, and on the big screen. What
philosophical trials does this superhero confront in order to keep
Gotham safe? Combing through seventy years of comic books,
television shows, and movies, Batman and Philosophy explores how
the Dark Knight grapples with ethical conundrums, moral
responsibility, his identity crisis, the moral weight he carries to
avenge his murdered parents, and much more. How does this caped
crusader measure up against the teachings of Plato, Aristotle,
Kant, Kierkegaard, and Lao Tzu?

Table of Content

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The Oscar Speech George Clooney Never Got to Make ix

Introduction: Riddle Me This . . . 1

PART ONE DOES THE DARK KNIGHT ALWAYS DO RIGHT?

1 Why Doesn’t Batman Kill the Joker? 5
Mark D. White

2 Is It Right to Make a Robin? 17
James Di Giovanna

3 Batman’s Virtuous Hatred 28
Stephen Kershnar

PART TWO LAW, JUSTICE, AN D THE SOCIAL ORDER: WHERE DOES BATMAN FIT IN?

4 No Man’s Land: Social Order in Gotham City and New Orleans 41
Brett Chandler Patterson

5 Governing Gotham 55
Tony Spanakos

6 The Joker’s Wild: Can We Hold the Clown Prince Morally Responsible? 70
Christopher Robichaud

PART THREE ORIGINS AND ETHICS: BECOMING THE CAPED CRUSADER

7 Batman’s Promise 85
Randall M. Jensen

8 Should Bruce Wayne Have Become Batman? 101
Mahesh Ananth and Ben Dixon

9 What Would Batman Do? Bruce Wayne as Moral Exemplar 114
Ryan Indy Rhodes and David Kyle Johnson

PART FOUR WHO IS THE BATMAN? (IS THAT A TRICK QUESTION?)

10 Under the Mask: How Any Person Can Become Batman 129
Sarah K. Donovan and Nicholas P. Richardson

11 Could Batman Have Been the Joker? 142
Sam Cowling and Chris Ragg

12 Batman’s Identity Crisis and Wittgenstein’s Family Resemblance 156
Jason Southworth

13 What Is It Like to Be a Batman? 167
Ron Novy

PART FIVE BEING THE BAT: INSIGHTS FROM EXISTENTIALISM AND TAOISM

14 Alfred, the Dark Knight of Faith: Batman and Kierkegaard 183
Christopher M. Drohan

15 Dark Nights and the Call of Conscience 198
Jason J. Howard

16 Batman’s Confrontation with Death, Angst, and Freedom 212
David M. Hart

PART SIX FRIEND, FATHER, . . . RIVAL? TH E MANY ROLES OF THE BAT

17 Why Batman Is Better Than Superman 227
Galen Foresman

18 World’s Finest . . . Friends? Batman, Superman, and the Nature of Friendship 239
Daniel P. Malloy

19 Leaving the Shadow of the Bat: Aristotle, Kant, and Dick Grayson on Moral Education 254
Carsten Fogh Nielsen

20 The Tao of the Bat 267
Bat-Tzu

CONTRIBUTORS : The Clown Princes (and Princess) of Casuistry and Categorical Imperatives 279

INDEX : From the Secret Files of Oracle, Master Indexer to the DCU 285

About the author

MARK D. WHITE is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY.

ROBERT ARP is a postdoctoral research associate through the National Center for Biomedical Ontology at the University at Buffalo, and edited South Park and Philosophy.

WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King’s College. He originated the philosophy and pop culture gentre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles, including Watchmen and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, and Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy.