SmithsonianX PHIL1.1x
Power and Responsibility: Doing Philosophy with Superheroes Study Guide
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ISSUE #1: Identities and Worlds |
Chapter A: Secret and Public Identities
Secret Identities
Is it immoral to hide one’s secret identity, especially if it involves lying?
The State
Who decides what superheroes can and cannot do? The government? Themselves? What rights do superheroes have as "public servants?"
Smithsonian Spotlights: Governments
In the new History of American Democracy exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, we look how the democracy known as the United States came into being. What caused this incredible shift in political mentality? What were some of the unforeseen complications that arose? What adaptations have been (and continue to be) made along the way in order to build a democracy that is truly inclusive of all people?
Main Discussion Question: The State
Consider the content about superheroes and the state, and how the American democracy was formed. Describe how transparency and oversight are important norms in both democratic norms and in superhero narratives. In what circumstances, if any, should these norms not be held? Explain.
Chapter B: Across Times and Worlds
Possible Worlds
Can worlds exist in different universes in parallels? What are we talking about when we say a variety of things are possible? What are abstract worlds?
Smithsonian Spotlight: Bruce Banner & The Hulk
Banner and the Hulk, in both body and mind, couldn’t be more different. Heck, they sometimes don’t even know what the other is up to. So why should we think that they are one and the same person? Why not instead say that Bruce Banner isn’t the incredible Hulk. Sure, these two persons are connected in some strange ways. When Bruce Banner loses it, he ceases to exist for a bit, and the Hulk springs into existence. And when the Hulk finally calms down, he ceases to exist for a bit, and Banner returns. That’s not how normal persons work. We persist uninterrupted through time. But the accident messed that up for Banner and the Hulk, one might think. Or, you might instead think this is all wrong. Of course Bruce Banner is the Hulk. But if that’s right, what makes it true that Bruce Banner survives, repeatedly, the extraordinary transformation of body and mind that supposedly turns him into the Hulk? What theory of personal identity can make sense of that?
Time
How do philosophers reason with universes and worlds colliding? (Concepts of time and the past, present, and the future in both philosophy and superhero stories.)
Multiverses
How do these principles apply to other aspects of history and art?
Main Discussion Question: Time Travel
Consider the description of superhero transformations such as Bruce Banner into The Hulk, Alec Holland into the Swamp Thing, and Ben Grimm into The Thing. When Bruce transforms into The Hulk, are they the same person? Does Bruce cease to exist when he transforms? Why or why not?
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ISSUE #2: The Ethics of Being a Hero |
Smithsonian Spotlight: Virtue
What is virtue?
Main Discussion Question: Moral Theories
In this chapter, we discuss a question that has crossed many superhero narratives: what is a hero? Which moral theory (utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics) stood out to you? What does a hero look like through this theory? Are there situations that do not fit this theory? Include examples or scenarios.
Chapter B: Saving Lives and Fighting the Good Fight
War and Conflict
What are the ethics of war and conflict? What are conditions that make it morally acceptable for a nation or entity to declare war? Who gives superheroes the legitimacy to act on war? Do they have a sovereignty of any kind?
Smithsonian Spotlight: War in History
How does the Doctrine of Double Effects apply when focusing on the human side of war? Does thinking about the consequences of war on the soldiers rather than innocent civilians affect the weight when trying to balance the good and bad consequences? How do we decide when the sacrifice of those who have volunteered rather than those who are innocent bystanders is an acceptable loss?
Moral Conduct of War
What do we have permission to do in the act of war? When is it permissible to take lives for the sake of saving others?
Main Discussion Questions: Saving Lives
(Based on the Superhero Spotlight: Saving Lives) Two stories, both with similarly bleak views of us, but also with very different responses to that bleakness. Which one do you think gets it right? What can we learn from how each wrestles with the challenges of defending a humanity hell-bent on its own destruction?
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ISSUE #3: Knowledge and Power |
Chapter A: Gods, Gods, and Power
Arguments for God
Philosophers have spent a lot of time thinking about the nature and existence of gods. How do we refer to them? What is the philosophy of religion? What powers does a god have? Why does something exist?
Problem of Evil
Could evil exist if gods existed? Is there a logical incompatibility of evil and the argument for gods?
Main Discussion Question: God and Gods
What theory stood out to you in this issue? How can this theory be argued for and against?
Chapter B: Science, Knowledge, and Epistemology
Weird Science! Epistemology
Superheroes and super villains and their complicated relationship with science. Science goes awry a lot in the superhero universe. We’re going to start with this question: what is knowledge? what different kinds of knowledge are? What is it to know something?
Smithsonian Spotlight: Genomics
Where do you stand on the ethics of genomics? What are ethical issues connected with unlocking the human genome? What is to prevent people from using the information for evil rather than good? Use the Smithsonian tool below to explore your own perspective in the ethics of genomics.
Main Discussion Question: Science and Knowledge
In this chapter, we explored superhero stories that discuss scientific dilemmas. What is a current or past example from our world that deals with the dilemmas in scientific pursuits?
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ISSUE #4: Crime. Punishment. Justice |
Chapter A: Crime, Punishment, and Free Will
Free Will
This issue, we’re going to explore issues involving moral responsibility. Is there such a thing as free will? What kind of punishment do we deserve?
Morality of Punishment
What can we be blamed for?
Superhero Spotlight: Breaking the Bat
What are your favorite superhero story arcs that show the development of character? What did you learn from them?
Main Discussion Questions: Crime and Punishment
Identify one of the arguments that show we are not responsible for our actions. In what scenario would this argument not work? How do you feel about this argument?
Chapter B: In Pursuit of Justice
Climate Justice
Our final subject is climate justice. What would Swampthing do in protecting this Earth? Are we doing right by the Earth and right by us?
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ISSUE #5: Deeper Waters |
Chapter A: Moral Relativism
Philosophy of Language
In this issue, we explore the nature of morality. Is there objective moral fact? What is the philosophy of language?
Moral Nihilism and Moral Relativism
What constitutes a moral fact? Who established the moral realm of facts? Or does it even exist?
Chapter B: Existentialism
Life, Death, and Immortality
How do we define death? Is death bad? Should we fear it?
Pessimism and Fictional Existence
We discuss what exactly is the mind of something that exists for thousands of millennia, such as a superhero god, and existentialism.
Chapter C: Philosophy of Art
Introduction to Four Course Panels
In this issue, we discuss what is art and why we can use comic books to study philosophy. What attributes and properties let us pick out and decide what is a work of art?
Forming Aesthetic Judgements
What exactly are we doing when we form aesthetic judgments? What drives us to judge things as beautiful or not?