The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy: Respect My Philosophah!

Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture #1.5

by Robert Arp (Editor), Kevin S. Decker (Editor), William Irwin (Editor)

Enlightenment from the South Park gang faster than you can say, "Screw you guys, I'm going home"!The Ultimate South Park and Respect My Philosophah! presents a compilation of serious philosophical reflections on the twisted insights voiced by characters in TV's most irreverent animated series.Offers readers a philosophically smart and candid approach to one of television's most subversive and controversial shows as it enters its 17th season Draws sharp parallels between the irreverent nature of South Park and the inquiring and skeptical approach of Western philosophy Journeys deep beyond the surface of the show's scatological humor to address the perennial questions raised in South Park and the contemporary social and political issues that inspire each episode Utilizes familiar characters and episodes to illustrate such philosophical topics as moral relativism, freedom of expression, gay marriage, blasphemy, democracy, feminism, animal ethics, existential questions, and much more It's a Bigger, Longer & Uncut version of the highly acclaimed South Park and You Know, I Learned Something Today --and is guaranteed to be much funnier than killing Kenny

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Comedy, Ebooks, Tv, Pop Culture

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Robert Arp, Ph.D. (Saint Louis University, 2005), has taught Philosophy at Southwest Minnesota State University, Florida State University, and many schools in Missouri, before doing postdoctoral research in ontology through the National Center for Biomedical Ontology with Mark Musen and Barry Smith at the University at Buffalo.

Reviews

[Joseph]

Imagination is an essential feature of human life, but how much should Pascal wager for some City Wok? Living in a, "world risk" society can totally suck balls.

Anyone who has completed an Introduction to Logic course (the Crème Fraîche of philosophy) would respect the authoritah to always define basic concepts under discussion, m'kay?

Beck's "enlightenment function" is not a collection of underpants dating back to 1998.

"But what Libertarians seem to ignore is that there is a 'feedback loop' between individualism and socialization in human development." (185/258)

If a, "miracle" is a violation of laws of nature, is our current salvation Pam Bondi's nose rectoplasm?

Nice to see a Peter Singer name drop.

[Yvonne]

The transition from a scene description to different philosophical thoughts was hilarious but not always coherent.

Quite funny especially if you’re into South Park.

[Mr. C]

Some of the essays are fun and informative, some of them are not as engaging, and at least one of them is not consistent in the argumentation used (even if they ended up in favor of the side I root for). They touch a great range of topics including vulgarity in the media, gay marriage, economics, individual freedom and politics, animal rights, and music. Obviously the examples taken from the series are great to make some of the philosophical themes and/or ideas easier to understand for the layman, but don't expect something too deep.

[Amazingsomeone]

A nice book. Absolute must for anyone who has enjoyed the show and is into Philosophy.

[William Schram]

The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy is a collection of essays that pertain to the popular television show South Park. The essays are edited and compiled by Kevin Drecker and Robert Arp. The essays cover a wide range of topics and delve in-depth into some of the episodes.

I was 11 years old when South Park released its first episode, in which aliens abduct Eric Cartman. My mom wouldn't let me watch the show, but I did see a few of the more popular episodes as I grew older.

I enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.

[The_J]

Heavy libertarian content, but somehow just not good enough for the show or the philosophers

[Samantha]

It's an ok book but it's not what I was thinking it would be. I thought it'd be a bit more fun but it's just meh.

[Dexter Hartunian]

Hilarious show that opens up some fantastic discussions.