Read The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy Online

Authors: Kevin S. Decker Robert Arp William Irwin

The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy

BOOK: The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy
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Contents

Introduction: “Well, I’m Afraid It’s About to Happen Again”

Note

Part I: Doing Philosophical Things with South Park

1 Flatulence and Philosophy

Oh my God! They Killed Socrates! You Bastards!

Cartman Gets a Banal Probe

Friendship Kicks Ass! The Dialogues of Kyle and Stan

An Apology for South Park: Getting in Touch with Your Inner Cartman

The Talking Cure for Our Culture

Notes

2 You Know, I Learned Something Today

Belief and Evidence

Faith, Self-Interest, and Evidence

What’s the Harm, Dude?

Inquiry, Hard Work, and Progress

Notes

3 “Imaginationland,” Terrorism, and the Difference Between Real and Imaginary

Critical Thinking and Theory

Unimaginative Leadership?

Just Because They’re Imaginary Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Real

Only You Can Help Us Win This Battle

Notes

4 Dude, Listen to Reason!

If You Do Drugs, Then You’re a Hippie

Deductions and Inductions

The Good, the Bad, and … Well, That’s It Really

“If Chewbacca Lives on Endor, You Must Acquit”

Slippery Slopes

The Defense Rests

Note

Part II: South Park and … Religion

5 Science, Religion, South Park, and God

Hail Science! Hail Science!

Being Too Soft?

Ha, Ha, Ha. You Believe in a Supernatural Being

Maybe Just Believing in God Makes God Exist

Oh My Science!

Getting Rid of All of the Isms

Notes

6 “Your Magic Is No Match for Our Powers Combined!”

Let’s Meet the Super Best Friends

Pick Any Religion, and Picture It in Your Mind

Go God Go

2 + 2 = 5

“David Blaine Will Now Eat His Own Head”

You Gotta Have Faith

Waiting for God (Oh!)

Notes

7 Cartmanland and the Problem of Evil

“And That’s It?” The Story of Job

The Sweet Milk of Our Tears

“You Are Up There!”

Free Hat, Free Willzyx, Free Will

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Jesus”

“Go God Go”

Notes

Part III: South Park Versus … Religion

8 “Respect My Religiositah!”

Don’t Make Fun of My Faith!

Suck My Balls: Is Nothing Sacred?

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Comedy Central Caves In

200–201: The Cartoon Wars Escalate and Guess Who Caves Again?

Is South Park Responsible for the Decline of Western Civilization?

Notes

9 Mary’s Menses and Morality

What in God’s Name Is Blasphemy?

Do You Care at All About People’s Feelings? A Utilitarian Perspective

South Park Has the Potential to Make People Think

You Have to Hit Them With a Sledgehammer

Just Pissing People Off

Notes

10 South Park, The Book of Mormon, and How Religious Fundamentalists Always Find a Way to Be Naive and Arrogant at the Same Time

A Mormon Just Believes

You’re Making Things Up Again

Boys Should Be With Girls, That’s Heavenly Father’s Plan

God Has a Plan for All of Us (That Plan Involves Me Getting My Own Planet)

I Am a Latter-Day Saint!

Notes

Part IV: Respecting My Authoritah! in South Park

11 Juvenile Hijinks With Serious Subtext

Karl Popper, the Open Society, and Its Enemies

South Park and the “Enemies”

Not Tolerating a Tolerance for Intolerance

Thomas Jefferson and the Foundations of Modern Democracy

Notes

12 Of Marx and Mantequilla

Work, Proletariat Work

Of Jobs and Meheecans

Window… Wiiiiiiindow: The (Mis)uses of Meheecan Labor Power

Marx, Race, and Nation

All You Have to Lose Is Your Encadenamientos

Notes

13 “Vote or Die, Bitch”

Enfranchised? So What!

Going to (Electoral) College

Liberty or Death?

Vote for Me, and Only for Me

You Wanna (Third) Party?

Stability in a Political Storm

Notes

14 Socioeconomic Darwinism from a South Park Perspective

Class Warfare Over the One-Percent Fat Fucking Pigs

Zombie See, Zombie Do Among the Economic Undead

Corporate CEOs as Underpants Gnomes

Moral in a Nutshell

Notes

Part V: Liber-arianism in South Park

15 Cartman Shrugged

High Philosophy and Low Comedy

Speaking the Unspeakable

A Plague on Both Your Houses

Defending the Undefendable

The Town of South Park versus Harbucks

The Great Gnome Mystery Solved

The Wal-Mart Monster

Notes

16 Sitting Downtown at Kentucky Fried Chicken

Libertarianism and Legislating Lifestyles

In Harm’s Way?

Drugs Are Bad, M’Kay

Mary Jane, M.D.

I’ll Make Sure You’re Hooked Up for Life

Fuck You, You Intersubjective Fuck!

“I Just Want You to Look at Me When We Make Love, and Not Just at My Balls.”

Douchebag Prisoners’ Dilemma

“Sharon, You Got a Scrotum Coat? Lucky!”

Notes

17 Cat Urine, Medicinal Fried Chicken, and Smoking

Self-Ownership and Paternalism

Consequentialist Reasons to Avoid Paternalism

Deontological Reasons to Avoid Paternalism

The Final Say As to How to Run One’s Life

Notes

Part VI: There’s a Time and a Place for Everything, Children

18 You (Still) Can’t Get Married, You’re Faggots

My God, Nature, and the Dictionary Say “No!”

You Think Kids Can Be Raised by Queers?

They’re Going to Allow Queers and Homos to Get Married, Huh?

Teacher, Our Egg Is Fine−Gays Can Get Married

Being “Butt Buddies” Isn’t the Same as Being Married

Notes

19 Cute and Cuddly Animals versus Yummy Animals

All Animals Are Created Equal … Not Really! (and the Japanese Hate Whales and Dolphins)

Tortured Baby Cows and Vaginitus

Kids versus Adults and Cuddly Animals versus Yummy Animals

The Line Goes Here, Not There!

Don’t Worry, You Probably Won’t Turn into a Giant Pussy

Fun with Animals and Crazy Animal Rights Activists

Notes

20 Aesthetic Value, Ethos, and Phil Collins

“Maybe I Can Put It Best in the Words of a Timeless Song”

Diegesis in South Park

Musical Spraying

Music to Move Plato’s Soul

Phil Collins and Aesthetic Value

Schopenhauer and “Death”

The Only Way It Works Is Through Music

Notes

Contributors

Index

The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series

Series editor: William Irwin

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, and a healthy helping of popular culture clears the cobwebs from Kant. Philosophy has had a public relations problem for a few centuries now. This series aims to change that, showing that ­philosophy is relevant to your life—and not just for answering the big questions like “To be or not to be?” but for answering the little questions: “To watch or not to watch
South Park
?” Thinking deeply about TV, movies, and music doesn’t make you a “complete idiot.” In fact it might make you a philosopher, someone who believes the unexamined life is not worth living and the unexamined cartoon is not worth watching.

Already published in the series
:

24 and Philosophy: The World According to Jack
Edited by Jennifer Hart Weed, Richard Brian Davis, and Ronald Weed

30 Rock and Philosophy: We Want to Go to There
Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser and Curiouser
Edited by Richard Brian Davis

Arrested Development and Philosophy: They’ve Made a Huge Mistake
Edited by Kristopher Phillips and J. Jeremy Wisnewski

The Avengers and Philosophy: Earth’s Mightiest Thinkers
Edited by Mark D. White

Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul
Edited by Mark D. White and Robert Arp

Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There
Edited by Jason T. Eberl

The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Aristotle, Locke
Edited by Dean Kowalski

The Big Lebowski and Philosophy: Keeping Your Mind Limber with Abiding Wisdom
Edited by Peter S. Fosl

Black Sabbath and Philosophy: Mastering Reality
Edited by William Irwin

The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen in the Art of Fake News
Edited by Jason Holt

Downton Abbey and Philosophy: The Truth Is Neither Here Nor There
Edited by Mark D. White

Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded
Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Final Fantasy and Philosophy: The Ultimate Walkthrough
Edited by Jason P. Blahuta and Michel S. Beaulieu

Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Than Swords
Edited by Henry Jacoby

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy: Everything is Fire
Edited by Eric Bronson

Green Lantern and Philosophy: No Evil Shall Escape this Book
Edited by Jane Dryden and Mark D. White

Heroes and Philosophy: Buy the Book, Save the World
Edited by David Kyle Johnson

The Hobbit and Philosophy: For When You’ve Lost Your Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way
Edited by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson

House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies
Edited by Henry Jacoby

The Hunger Games and Philosophy: A Critique of Pure Treason
Edited by George Dunn and Nicolas Michaud

Inception and Philosophy: Because It’s Never Just a Dream
Edited by David Johnson

Iron Man and Philosophy: Facing the Stark Reality
Edited by Mark D. White

Lost and Philosophy: The Island Has Its Reasons
Edited by Sharon M. Kaye

Mad Men and Philosophy: Nothing Is as It Seems
Edited by James South and Rod Carveth

Metallica and Philosophy: A Crash Course in Brain Surgery
Edited by William Irwin

The Office and Philosophy: Scenes from the Unfinished Life
Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski

South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today
Edited by Robert Arp

Spider-Man and Philosophy: The Web of Inquiry
Edited by Jonathan Sanford

Terminator and Philosophy: I’ll Be Back, Therefore I Am
Edited by Richard Brown and Kevin S. Decker

True Blood and Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Things with You
Edited by George Dunn and Rebecca Housel

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

The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy: Hogwarts for Muggles
Edited by Gregory Bassham

The Ultimate Lost and Philosophy: Think Together, Die Alone
Edited by Sharon Kaye

The Walking Dead and Philosophy: Shotgun. Machete. Reason
.
Edited by Christopher Robichaud

Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test
Edited by Mark D. White

X-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X-Verse
Edited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Superman and Philosophy: What Would the Man of Steel Do?
Edited by Mark D. White

The Ultimate Daily Show and Philosophy: More Moments of Zen, More Moments of Indecision Theory
Edited by Jason Holt

BOOK: The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy
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