Iron Man and Philosophy E-Book

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 415

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

The first look at the philosophy behind the Iron Man comics and movies, timed for the release of Iron Man 2 in March 2010 On the surface, Iron Man appears to be a straightforward superhero, another rich guy fighting crime with fancy gadgets. But beneath the shiny armor and flashy technology lies Tony Stark, brilliant inventor and eccentric playboy, struggling to balance his desires, addictions, and relationships with his duties as the Armored Avenger. Iron Man and Philosophy explores the many philosophical issues that emerge from the essential conflicts found in the decades of Iron Man stories in comics and movies. What kind of moral compass does Tony Stark have? Is Iron Man responsible for the death of Captain America after the Marvel Universe "Civil War"? Should people like Stark run the world? How does Tony's alcoholism impact his performance as Iron Man, and what does it say about moral character? Ultimately, what can Iron Man teach us about the role of technology in society? As absorbing as Iron Man comic books and movies, Iron Man and Philosophy: * Gives you a new perspective on Iron Man characters, story lines, and themes * Shows what philosophical heavy hitters such as Aristotle, Locke, and Heidegger can teach us about Tony Stark/Iron Man * Considers issues such as addiction, personal responsibility, the use of technology, and the role of government Whether you've been reading the comic books for years or have gotten into Iron Man through the movies, Iron Man and Philosophy is a must-have companion for every fan.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series

Title Page

Copyright Page

Introduction

PART ONE - THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF TONY STARK

Chapter 1 - THE STARK MADNESS OF TECHNOLOGY

“A Heart of Gold and an Appearance to Match”

“Masters of Nature”

It’s Not All in the Hardware

The Heroism of Generosity

“The Body Is Wrong”

“How Many Have Drawn Blood with My Sword?”

Jet Boots and Clay Feet

Chapter 2 - THE TECHNOLOGICAL SUBVERSION OF TECHNOLOGY: TONY STARK, HEIDEGGER, ...

Got to Get Away: Engineering Escape

What Makes It Tick? Questioning Technology with Stark and Heidegger

We Can Build You: The Causes of Iron Man

Look Out Beyond! The Dangers of Technology

Suiting Up: Making Power Responsible

This Means You: Deciding to Become Iron Man

The Face Shield Is a Mirror: Iron Man and You

Chapter 3 - THE LITERAL MAKING OF A SUPERHERO

Iron Man as Realistic? Have You Seen This Movie?!

Really Cool Toys: Nanotechnology and the Making of a Hero

Iron Man, This Is Nanoethics; Nanoethics, Meet Iron Man

Enter the Precautionary Principle

So, That’s It? No Solution?

PART TWO - WEARING THE ARMOR RESPONSIBLY

Chapter 4 - CAN IRON MAN ATONE FOR TONY STARK’S WRONGS?

Distinctions with a Difference

To Act or Not to Act, That Is the Question

Time to Claim Responsibility

Blame and Wrongdoing

Sometimes “I’ m Sorry” Just Isn’t Enough

Atonement Ain’t Easy

The Guilt Never Goes Away

Chapter 5 - DID IRON MAN KILL CAPTAIN AMERICA?

Sometimes It Sucks to Be Tony Stark

What If He Had Just Stayed Home and Polished His Armor?

Tragic Dilemmas, the Superhero’s Stock in Trade

So, Did Tony Kill Cap?

Why, Tony, Why?

More Props for Tony

The Hero’s Responsibility

Chapter 6 - FATE AT THE BOTTOM OF A BOTTLE: ALCOHOL AND TONY STARK

Smart Guy, Bad Choices

“Cause”—That’s Why!

Blaming the Disease

Choice and Responsibility

Is He or Isn’t He?

Drying Out

PART THREE - THE IRON AGE: TONY STARK’S ROLE IN SOCIETY

Chapter 7 - TONY STARK AND “THE GOSPEL OF WEALTH”

The Gospel of Andrew Carnegie: Why Tony Stark Knows Best

Are the Rich Really Different from Us?

The Gospel of Intellect

Better Judgment? Have You Met Tony Stark?

The Best Defense against the Misuse of Technology

Civil Wars, Secret Invasions, and the Fall of Iron Man

The Invisible Power Gauntlet of Adam Smith

Another Reason to Give Back

Tony Learns His Lesson?

Chapter 8 - ™ AND © STARK INDUSTRIES: IRON MAN AND PROPERTY RIGHTS

Tony’s Best Toy

Owning Ideas and IDs

Stealing Tony’s Stuff

Putting a Locke on the Armor

I Am/Own Iron Man

Selling Ol’ Shellhead

Chapter 9 - TONY STARK, PHILOSOPHER KING OF THE FUTURE?

Is All That Glitters Gold?

Superheroes Rule—but Should They?

“Tony Stark makes you feel, he’s a cool exec with a heart of steel”

Philosopher King or Puppet Master?

Tony Knows Armor, Tony Knows Women, Tony Doesn’t Know Diddley

Over Four Thousand Words to Say No

PART FOUR - THE MIND INSIDE THE IRON MAN

Chapter 10 - IRON MAN IN A CHINESE ROOM: DOES LIVING ARMOR THINK?

Of Blenders, Toasters, and Living Armor

Functionalism, or If It Walks Like a Robot . . .

Look Out, Tony—Intelligent Earthworms!

As If!

The Attack of the Chinese Room

Chapter 11 - FLEXING HIS INTELLIGENCE: TONY STARK’S BRAINY BRAWN

Never Mind the Armor

Separation Anxieties

Things Left Unsaid

(Artificial) Intelligence

Putting One’s Mind into a Body

Chapter 12 - DOES TONY STARK HAVE AN IRON WILL?

The Akratic Avenger

Enter the Searle

What Happens in the Gap Stays in the Gap

Saving Weakness of Will

Super-strength . . . of Will

Amazing and Inspiring

PART FIVE - THE VIRTUE OF AN AVENGER

Chapter 13 - DOES TONY STARK USE A MORAL COMPASS?

Does Tony’s Moral Compass Point to the Greater Good?

Does Tony’s Moral Compass Point to Duty?

Finding Tony’s Moral Compass in Emotion

Tony’s Moral Compass Found!

Can You Find Your Moral Compass?

Chapter 14 - FLAWED HEROES AND COURAGEOUS VILLAINS: PLATO, ARISTOTLE, AND IRON ...

Iron Man vs. Tony Stark

Virtues Unite!

We’re Gonna Need Doctor Doom’s Time Cube for This

Speaking of Doctor Doom

Plato Strikes Back

The Return of UVT, Part One

Ask Aristotle

The Return of UVT, Part Two

Enough with the Ancients

The Return of UVT−the Final Countdown

Relax, Tony—You’re Safe!

Chapter 15 - “I HAVE A GOOD LIFE”: IRON MAN AND THE AVENGER SCHOOL OF VIRTUE

The Good Life

The Avenger Community of Virtue

Instructing the Armor: Training in Virtue and Friendship

Self-Sacrifice and the Life of an Avenger

Here Lies an Avenger

PART SIX - WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN IRON MAN

Chapter 16 - IRON MAN AND THE PROBLEM OF PROGRESS

The Problem of Progress

Embracing Imperfection

The Flawed Hero

The Road to Hell

Iron Man’s Armor as Metaphor

Franken-Stark

Chapter 17 - ENGENDERING JUSTICE IN IRON MAN

Superheroes and Philosophers

Back to Butler

Iron Man’s Hard Women

Wait . . . There’s More!

Iron Man: The End

Chapter 18 - IRON MAN’S TRANSCENDENT CHALLENGE

It’s the Thought That Counts

The Flight of Iron Man

Is Iron Man a Cipher of Transcendence?

The Paradoxes of Betrayal and Sacrifice

And the Truth Is . . .

CONTRIBUTORS

INDEX

The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series

Series Editor: William Irwin

South Park and PhilosophyEdited by Robert Arp

Metallica and PhilosophyEdited by William Irwin

Family Guy and PhilosophyEdited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski

The Daily Show and PhilosophyEdited by Jason Holt

Lost and PhilosophyEdited by Sharon Kaye

24 and PhilosophyEdited by Richard Davis, Jennifer Hart Week, and Ronald Weed

Battlestar Galactica and PhilosophyEdited by Jason T. Eberl

The Office and PhilosophyEdited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Batman and PhilosophyEdited by Mark D. White and Robert Arp

House and PhilosophyEdited by Henry Jacoby

Watchmen and PhilosophyEdited by Mark D. White

X-Men and PhilosophyEdited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Terminator and PhilosophyEdited by Richard Brown and Kevin Decker

Heroes and PhilosophyEdited by David Kyle Johnson

Final Fantasy and PhilosophyEdited by Jason Blahuta and Michel Beaulieu

Twilight and PhilosophyEdited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Copyright © 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Iron Man and philosophy: facing the Stark reality / edited by Mark D. White p.cm.

Includes index.

eISBN : 978-0-470-58310-4

1. Iron Man (Motion picture) I. White, Mark D., date. PN1997.2.I76I76 2010

791.43’72—dc22

2009031396

IRON INTRODUCTIONS AND ARMORED ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Strange how much I owe to my life-giving transistors! They not only power my Iron Man armor, but they keep my injured heart beating so that Tony Stark can remain alive! My very existence is hanging by an electric cord!

Well, enough philosophy for now! If I know my women, and nobody knows them better than Tony Stark . . .

—Tales of Suspense #53, May 1964

Well, that may be enough philosophy for Tony Stark, but it’s definitely not enough for the contributors to the book you’re holding, not to mention its humble editor. For nearly forty years, comics buffs—and more recently, movie fans—have thrilled to the adventures of the armored avenger Iron Man and the romantic and business exploits of the man behind the mask, Tony Stark. But compared to other celebrated superheroes, Iron Man looks like a straightforward character. Tony’s not a deeply tortured soul like Batman or a perennial outcast like each of Uncanny X-Men, and he’s not a front for a harsh portrayal of abuse of power like the characters of Watchmen. He’s a guy in a shiny metal suit who fights bad guys—so what can philosophers possibly say about him?

As it turns out, plenty! A certain webslinger we know is fond of saying that with great power comes great responsibility, and Iron Man certainly wields great power—but does he show great responsibility? Does he behave ethically, and does he reason philosophically? Is there a downside to the tremendous technological advances that form Iron Man’s incredible armor? And is his true superpower the armor of Iron Man or the intelligence of Tony Stark? Speaking of whom, Tony Stark is infamous for his playboy persona or, to put it more bluntly, his alcoholic womanizing. So how do these character flaws reflect on Iron Man the hero? Despite the glitz, glamour, and gleaming armor, is tragedy actually the defining aspect of Tony Stark’s life?

As you read this book, I hope you come to agree—if you didn’t already—that even the most “normal” of superheroes can inspire fascinating philosophical questions. Stan Lee may not have realized it at the time, but when he took a brilliant, handsome, and wealthy weapons manufacturer and turned his life upside down, he created a character with enough inner and outer turmoil to inspire stories like “Demon in a Bottle,” “Armor Wars,” and “The Mask in the Iron Man” (just to name a few). And Iron Man has more than enough depth to inspire philosophers like us—and that includes you, dear readers—to think about power, responsibility, intelligence, virtue, technology, and just what it must feel like to soar into the sky with jet-powered boots. (I’m still waiting for the last one—someday!)

For shepherding this book through with ease and grace, I want to thank Connie “Pepper” Santisteban and Eric “Happy” Nelson at Wiley; none of the books in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series—or our love triangle, so essential to the plot—would be possible without them. Heartfelt thanks go out to Robert “Yinsen” Arp, who helped get this ball rolling in the first place (and happily avoided the fate of his namesake). As always, I could not do this without the support and assistance of my copilot, series editor Bill “Rhodey” Irwin (could War Machine and Philosophy be next?). And finally, I thank all my fellow Avengers (as it happens, no West Coast ones—go figure) who contributed chapters to this book—I never could have defeated the evil Dr. Deadline without you!

For the years of Iron Man stories that inspired all of us involved with this book, we thank the creators, starting with Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby and continuing on with David Michelinie, Bob Layton, Denny O’Neil, Joe Quesada, Warren Ellis, Daniel and Charles Knauf, and Matt Fraction. Let us not forget the folks who gave ol’ Shellhead even more worldwide exposure through the Iron Man films: Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., and Gwyneth Paltrow, plus their costars, screenwriters, crew, and producers.

And thank you, Tony Stark. As the song goes, you get knocked down, but you get up again—they’re never gonna keep you down. And as long as they don’t, we’ll be there, reading the comics, watching the movies, and thinking about the philosophy.

PART ONE

THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF TONY STARK

1

THE STARK MADNESS OF TECHNOLOGY

George A. Dunn

For me, it was the jet boots.

Not that I didn ’t also covet that incredible array of weapons built into Tony Stark’s armor—the repulsor rays, missile launchers, pulse beams, and flamethrowers—but it was those jet boots that really got me salivating. To my preadolescent mind, it was Tony’s marvelous ability to lift himself off the ground and soar through the clouds that made him a bona fide superhero and not just some hotshot engineer outfitted with an admittedly awesome arsenal of weapons. After all, the prefix “super” comes from a Latin word meaning “above,” so to watch a real superhero in action you should need to crane your neck and look up in the sky.

But the jet boots were also emblematic of what to my mind was the most glorious thing about Tony’s way of being a superhero. Unlike, say, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, Tony wasn’t simply someone who happened to be a superhero in addition to being a hotshot engineer. He was a superhero because of those jet boots and the enviable power they gave him, which is to say that it was his extraordinary engineering prowess that allowed him to make himself super, without having to wait around for gamma rays or a radioactive spider bite. Consequently—and best of all, to my way of thinking—you didn’t even need to be Tony to wield his remarkable superpowers (at least until recently, when Extremis transformed him into a full-fledged technological artifact in his own right). All you needed was access to Stark technology. In principle, anyone could become the Iron Man. Of course, as the memorable “Armor Wars” story line drove home with a vengeance—and by “vengeance,” I mean Tony Stark in a murderous rage—you would be ill-advised to use that technology without the permission of its creator. On the other hand, you might get to be one of the lucky few, like James “Rhodey” Rhodes, “Happy” Hogan, or, more recently, Pepper Potts, all of whom Tony has authorized at one time to don some version of his Iron Man armor and take flight.