Family Guy and Philosophy

That’s right. We’ve done it. We’ve brought together lowbrow, potty–mouthed, cartoon humor and highbrow philosophical reflection. Ok, it’s not that highbrow, but the results are outrageously delicious. In Family Guy and Philosophy we tackle the perennial positions of the show and contemplate a little philosophy to boot!

Is Family Guy really a vehicle for conservative politics? What’s so funny about dysfunctional families? Should we all be offended by the show? This book gathers original essays from premier philosophers to get behind the punchlines and find out what we’re really laughing at. And of course we dive into the philosophy of the cast as well, asking the important questions, like: What the hell is wrong with Stewie? Who is more human, Peter or Brian? Is Lois a feminist? Is there anything virtuous about Quagmire?

Family Guy and Philosophy takes an introspective look at what this show can teach us about the ego, ethics, religion, death, and of course, time–travel, and delivers a merciless exploration of one of TV’s most unrelenting families.

Acknowledgments: These people are freakin’ sweet [Acknowledgments].

You Better Not Read This, Pal: An Introduction to Family Guy and Philosophy: J. Jeremy Wisnewski.

Part I. Those Good Ole’ Fashion Values on which we used to rely.

1. Killing the Griffins: A Murderous Exposition of Postmodernism: J. Jeremy Wisnewski (Hartwick College).

2. Family Guy and God: Should Believers Take Offense?: Ray J. VanArragon (Bethel University).

3. Quagmire, Virtue, and Perversity: Shaun Miller (Weber State University).

4. Francis Griffin and the Church of the Holy Fonz: Religious Exclusivism and "Real" Religion: David Kyle Johnson (King′s College).

Part II. Lucky there’s a family guy! (And what a family!).

5. Let Us Now Praise Clueless Men: Peter Griffin and Philosophy: Jerry Samet (Brandeis University).

6. Lois: Portrait of a Mother (Or, Nevermind Death, Motherhood is a Bitch): Stephanie Empey (University of California, Riverside).

7. Mmmyez: Stewie and the Seven Deadly Sins: Sharon M. Kaye (John Carroll University).

8. The Other Children: The Significance of Meg and Chris: P. Sue Dohnimm.

9. He Thinks He’s People: How Brian Made Personhood for the Dogs: Daniel Malloy (Appalachian State University).

Part III. He–he–he–he–he. You expected more lyrics, but you’re getting logic, comedy, and the logic of comedy.

10. The Logic of Expectation: Family Guy and the Non Sequitur: Jonah P.B. Goldwater (Baruch College).

11. What Are You Laughing At (And Why)? Exploring the Humor of Family Guy: Andrew Terjesen (Washington and Lee University).

12. Thinkin’ is Freakin’ Sweet: Family Guy and Fallacies: Robert Arp (Florida State University).

13. The Simpsons Already Did It! This Show Is A Freakin’ Rip–Off!: Shai Biderman (Boston University) and William J. Devlin (Boston University).

Part IV. Family Problems.

14. Is Brian More of a “Person” than Peter? Of Wills, Wantons, and Wives: Mark D. White (College of Staten Island).

15. The Ego is a Housewife Named Lois: Robert Sharp (University of Alabama).

16. The Lives and Times of Stewie Griffin: Tuomas Manninen (Arizona State University West).

17. Kierkegaard and the Norm (MacDonald) of Death: Adam Buben (University of South Florida).

Appendix: Everything you ever needed to know about Meg Griffin, as compiled by the contributors.

Notes on Contributors: What the deuce!?! They’re real! (Most of them, anyway) [Contributor Bios].

Index: He–he–he–he–he–he … You read books [Index]

J. Jeremy Wisnewski is Assistant Professor at Hartwick College. He is the author of Wittgenstein and Ethical Inquiry: A Defense of Ethics as Clarification (2007) and The Politics of Agency: Toward a Pragmatic Approach to Philosophical Anthropology (2008). He is also the editor of The Office and Philosophy (Blackwell, 2008).

“Maddening in its irreverent audacity, this book reminds me of an old girlfriend: iconoclastic and argumentative, occasionally insane but always entertaining, with a soul of which Stewie could be proud. I couldn’t pull myself away!”
Dave Baggett, editor of Harry Potter and Philosophy and Hitchcock and Philosophy<!––end––>

“This book doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever, which obviously means it’s brilliant.”
Joey Green, author of The Bathroom Professor: Philosophy on the Go

"Author cooks up a big bowl of philosophy stew while exposing the Family Guy for what it is; a beacon of post–modernism."
TLChicken.com

“It is a rare opportunity to philosophically deconstruct life′s absurdities … . We can laugh in the face of life′s troublesome ideas and attempt to understand them.” Associated Content