Richard Hanley 
South Park and Philosophy 
Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating

Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s long-running Comedy Central hit cartoon South Park has been equally cheered and reviled for its edgy humor, poited satire of current events and celebrities, and all-around obnoxiousness. But is there more to Kyle, the lonely Jew, Timmy and the Crips, Cartman’s bitchiness, Chef’s inappropriate advice, and Kenny’s continued violent deaths than meets the eye? This collection of essays affirms that possibility. Individual chapters take a sometimes witty, often provocative look at Is South Park a Libertarian Manifesto?’, ‘That’s So Gay!’, and ‘Why Is Cartman Such an Asshole?”. The writers apply classical philosophical analysis to this two-dimensional dystopia, whether in Paul Draper’s Why Good Things Happen to Bad People The Problem of Evil in South Park” or Randall Auxier’s Finding South Park on the Map: Officer Barbrady, Mayor Mc Daniel, and Chef in Plato’s Republic.” South Park and Philosophy presents new and thoughtful approaches to understanding this surprisingly meaningful show.

About the author

Richard Hanley is the author of Is Data Human? (formerly The Metaphysics of Star Trek). He contributed chapters to Superheroes and Philosophy and Star Wars and Philosophy, both in the Popular Culture and Philosophy series.He teaches philosophy at the University of Delaware. Professor Hanley is co-editor of The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy of Language.