Rebecca Housel & J. Jeremy Wisnewski 
Twilight and Philosophy 
Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality

twilight and Philosophy

What can vampires tell us about the meaning of life?

Is Edward a romantic hero or a dangerous stalker?

Is Bella a feminist? Is Stephenie Meyer?

How does Stephenie Meyer’s Mormonism fit into the fantastical world of Twilight?

Is Jacob ‘better’ for Bella than Edward?

The answers to these philosophical questions and more can be found inside Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality. With everything from Taoism to mind reading to the place of God in a world of vampires, this book offers some very tasty philosophy for both the living and the undead to sink their teeth into. Whether you’re on Team Edward or Team Jacob, whether you loved or hated Breaking Dawn, this book is for you!

To learn more about the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, visit www.andphilosophy.com

Table of Content

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Supernatural Humans

We Can’t Live Without xi

Introduction: Undead Wisdom 1

PART ONE TWILIGHT

1 You Look Good Enough to Eat: Love, Madness, and the Food Analogy 7
George A. Dunn

2 Dying to Eat: The Vegetarian Ethics of Twilight 25
Jean Kazez

3 Can a Vampire Be a Person? 39
Nicolas Michaud

4 Carlisle: More Compassionate Than a Speeding Bullet? 49
Andrew Terjesen and Jenny Terjesen

PART TWO NEW MOON

5 Vampire-Dämmerung: What Can Twilight Tell Us about God? 63
Peter S. Fosl and Eli Fosl

6 To Bite or Not to Bite: Twilight, Immortality, and the Meaning of Life 79
Brendan Shea

7 Mind Reading and Morality: The Moral Hazards of Being Edward 93
Eric Silverman

8 Love and Authority among Wolves 107
Sara Worley

PART THREE ECLIPSE

9 Bella Swan and Sarah Palin: All the Old Myths Are Not True 121
Naomi Zack

10 Vampire Love: The Second Sex Negotiates the Twenty-first Century 131
Bonnie Mann

11 Edward Cullen and Bella Swan: Byronic and Feminist Heroes . . . or Not 147
Abigail E. Myers

12 Undead Patriarchy and the Possibility of Love 163
Leah Mc Climans and J. Jeremy Wisnewski

13 The ‘Real’ Danger: Fact vs. Fiction for the Girl Audience 177
Rebecca Housel

PART FOUR BREAKING DAWN

14 Twilight of an Idol: Our Fatal Attraction to Vampires 193
Jennifer L. Mc Mahon

15 Bella’s Vampire Semiotics 209
Dennis Knepp

16 Space, Time, and Vampire Ontology 219
Philip Puszczalowski

17 For the Strength of Bella? Meyer, Vampires, and Mormonism 227
Marc E. Shaw

18 The Tao of Jacob 237
Rebecca Housel

CONTRIBUTORS: Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing the Stars of Our Show, Humans, Vampires, and Shape-Shifters Alike 247

INDEX: For Those Who Can’t Read Minds 253

About the author

REBECCA HOUSEL coedited X-Men and Philosophy. A former professor of English and popular culture in western New York, she now serves on editorial advisory boards for the Journal of Popular Culture and the Journal of American Culture. Also an author of middle-grade fiction, she is currently working on a new young adult novel.

J. JEREMY WISNEWSKI is a professor of philosophy at Hartwick College, the coeditor of X-Men and Philosophy, and the editor of Family Guy and Philosophy and The Office and Philosophy.

WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King’s College. 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 Batman and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, and Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy.