Dracula and Philosophy

Popular Culture and Philosophy #90

by Nicolas Michaud (Editor), Janelle Pötzsch (Editor)

Twenty-four nocturnal philosophers stake out and vivisect Dracula from many angles, unearthing evidence from numerous movies and shows—macabre, terrifying, tragic, and comic.
Altmann decides whether Dracula can really be blamed for his crimes, since it’s his nature as a vampire to behave a certain way. Arp argues that Dracula’s addiction to live human blood dooms him to perpetual misery. Karavitis sees Dracula as a Randian individual pitted against the Marxist collective. Ketcham contrives a meeting between Dracula and the Jewish theologian Maimonides. Littmann maintains that if we disapprove of Dracula’s behavior, we ought to be vegetarians. Mahon uses the example of Dracula to resolve nagging problems about the desirability of immortality. McCrossin and Wolfe, disinter some of the re-interpretations of this now-mythical character, and asks whether we can identify an essential Dracula. Pramik shows how the Dracula tale embodies Kierkegaard’s three stages of life. Barkman and Versteeg ponder what it would really feel like to be Dracula. The Greens publish some previous unknown letters between Dracula and Camus's Meursault. Vuckovich looks at the sexual morality of characters in the Dracula saga. De Waal explains that "Dragula" is scary because every time this being appears, it causes "gender trouble."

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 9, 2015

Reviews

[Dann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dracula and Philosophy: Dying to Know is an enthralling and provocative book that sinks its teeth into some meaty topics. Featuring 24 articles written by various authors, a number of the meanings and themes that appear in Bram Stoker’s novel, as well as several of the film adaptations, are discussed; including the nature of evil, moral agency, the nature of the mind, and subjective vs. objective experience. And for the most part they’re pretty well-written, and use some interesting techniques (such as epistolary writing) to illustrate their points. However, the articles that try to tackle more modern PC concepts that involve gender and identity politics don’t really work. Still, on the whole, Dracula and Philosophy: Dying to Know is an enjoyable read that offers some fascinating perspectives on this legendary tale.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it just to see what it would be like if Plato's Cave was, instead, Dracula's Dungeon (that's in the essay I wrote for the book).

[Josh · Rating 1 out of 5]

To Bluegh! or not to Bluegh!

What appears to be just a stocking stuffer collection of philosophy articles ham-fisted to fit the genre actually has a handful of interesting chapters. Much of it though feels contrived and forced to fill a bookstore shelf gap. I know these ___ and Philosophy titles are exactly that, but it was disappointing for much of the read regardless. Academic writers too, trying to write fiction, always feels like having my body slowly exsanguinated. So a somewhat painful read mildly redeemed by a handful of genuinely interesting articles?

"Vampires are psychopaths. Of course, their intelligence sets them apart from other members of the undead family. But this only means that they are highly intelligent psychopaths."

1.5 Academic Yawns out of 5

🥱.5⬛⬛⬛⬛