Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test

Can we justify Ozymandias′s grand plan?

Does Dr. Manhattan really know what′s going to happen in thefuture?

Is the Comedian actually a comedian (or just a jerk)?

Can either Silk Spectre be considered a feminist?

Does Nite Owl′s paunch actually make him virtuous?

Watchmen is the most critically acclaimed graphic novel everpublished and turned the world of comic superheroes on its head.This masterpiece of realistic storytelling, dialogue, and artwork,courtesy of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, raises a host ofcompelling philosophical questions. How do Ozymandias and Rorschachjustify their actions? What are the political ramifications of theComedian′s work for the government? How do we explain the nature ofDr. Manhattan? And can a graphic novel be considered literature?Whether you′re reading Watchmen for the first time or have been afan for more than twenty years, Watchmen and Philosophy willhelp you read deeper into the philosophical questions and therevolutionary story that changed comic fiction forever.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: They Left It Entirely in My Hands ix

Introduction: A Rorschach Test 1

PART ONE

THE POLITICS OF POWER: WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN?

1 The Superman Exists, and He s American: Morality in the Face of Absolute Power 5
Christopher Robichaud

2 Can We Steer This Rudderless World? Kant, Rorschach, Retributivism, and Honor 19
Jacob M. Held

3 Super–Vigilantes and the Keene Act 33
Tony Spanakos

4 Superheroes and Supermen: Finding Nietzsche s Übermensch in Watchmen 47
J. Keeping

PART TWO

THE VEIDT PLAN: WATCHMEN AND ETHICS

5 Means, Ends, and the Critique of Pure Superheroes 63
J. Robert Loftis

6 The Virtues of Nite Owl s Potbelly 79
Mark D. White

7 Rorschach: When Telling the Truth Is Wrong 91
Alex Nuttall

PART THREE

THE METAPHYSICS OF DR. MANHATTAN

8 Dr. Manhattan, I Presume? 103
James DiGiovanna

9 A Timely Encounter: Dr. Manhattan and Henri Bergson 115
Christopher M. Drohan

10 Free Will and Foreknowledge: Does Jon Really Know What Laurie Will Do Next, and Can She Do Otherwise? 125
Arthur Ward

11 I m Just a Puppet Who Can See the Strings: Dr. Manhattan as a Stoic Sage 137
Andrew Terjesen

PART FOUR

THIS IS NOT YOUR FATHER S COMIC BOOK

12 Why Don t You Go Read a Book or Something? Watchmen as Literature 157
Aaron Meskin

13 Watchwomen 173
Sarah Donovan and Nick Richardson

14 Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis: The Ambiguously Gay Duo 185
Robert Arp

15 What s So Goddamned Funny? The Comedian and Rorschach on Life s Way 197
Taneli Kukkonen

CONTRIBUTORS: Who Writes about the Watchmen? 215

INDEX: After the Masquerade 221

Mark D. White is an associate professor in the Department ofPolitical Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College ofStaten Island/CUNY and coeditor of Batman andPhilosophy.
William Irwin is a professor of philosophy at King′s College. Heoriginated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books ascoeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and hasoverseen recent titles, including Batman and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, and Watchmen and Philosophy.