Overview

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.

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9783319406657

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Author Information

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 DeMYSTiFieD, 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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