This volume considers the numerous philosophical ideas and arguments found in and inspired by the critically acclaimed series Breaking Bad. This show garnered both critical and popular attention for its portrayal of a cancer-stricken, middle-aged, middle-class, high school chemistry teacher’s drift into the dark world of selling methamphetamine to support his family. Its characters, situations, and aesthetic raise serious and familiar philosophical issues, especially related to ethics and morality. The show provokes a bevy of rich questions and discussion points, such as: What are the ethical issues surrounding drugs? What lessons about existentialism and fatalism does the show present? How does the show grapple with the concept of the end ‘justifying’ the means? Is Walt really free not to ‘break bad’? Can he be redeemed? What is the definition and nature of badness (or evil) itself? Contributors address these and other questions as they dissect the legacy of the show and discuss its contributions to philosophical conversations.
Table of Content
Introduction; Kevin S. Decker, David Koepsell, and Robert Arp.- Part I. “We Tried to Poison You”—Breaking Evil.- 1. Breaking Bad and Evil; Jen Baker.- 2. Eichmann in Albuquerque; Karen Adkins.- 3. Empathy and Evil: Drug-Dealing Murderers are People Too; Charlene Elsby and Rob Luzecky.- Part II. “I am the One Who Knocks”—the Shadow of Death and the Meaning of Life.- 4. Shadow of the Sickness Unto Death: Walter White’s Transformation into the Knight of Meth; Frank Scalambrino.- 5. Death is Easy if You’re Dead; Christopher Ketcham.- 6. If Sociopaths and Antiheroes Can Lead Meaningful Lives, What Does it All Mean?; Kimberly Blessing.- Part III. “I Will Put You Under the Jail”—the Tragedy of Breaking Bad.- 7. Law and Morality in Breaking Bad; David Koepsell.- 8. One Bad Day—How Did Walter Break Bad?; James B. South.- 9. “Yo, Bitch”—The Crumbling Masculine Monument and the Reign of Feminist Ethics in Breaking Bad; Leigh Kolb.- Part IV. “I Did I For Me”—Morality, Mastery and Meth.- 10. Recovering Lost Moral Ground: Can Walt Make Amends?; Joseph Mahon and James Edwin Mahon.- 11. Morality in-Action; Adam Barkman and Travis Dyk.- 12. Bad Faith in Breaking Bad: Walter White and Heisenberg; Leslie Aarons.- Part V. Becoming Jess James—Breaking Bad’s Challenge to Philosophy.- 13. Hatred, Vengeance, and Justice; Kevin Guilfoy.- 14. “We Are Responsible to All for All:” An Intersubjective Analysis of Breaking Bad; Sheridan Hough.- 15. Breaking Bad’s Case Studies in Absurdity; Kevin S. Decker.
About the author
Kevin S. Decker is Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Washington University, USA. He is the author of
Who is Who? The Philosophy of Doctor Who and has written many chapters in books on philosophy and popular culture as well as journal articles on ethics, social theory, and political philosophy.
David R. Koepsell has been a tenured associate professor of philosophy at the Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, and a Visiting Professor at UNAM, Instituto de Filosoficas and the Unidad Posgrado, Mexico.
Robert Arp is the author of
Scenario Visualization: An Evolutionary Account of Creative Problem Solving and co-author of
Philosophy De MYSTi Fie D, Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Reasoning Well, 2nd Edition, and
What’s Good on TV? Teaching Ethics through Television. He is also editor of
1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think, South Park and Philosophy, Tattoos-Philosophy for Everyone: I Ink, Therefore I Am, Psych and Philosophy, Homeland and Philosophy, and
The Devil and Philosophy.
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