Mr. Robot and Philosophy: Beyond Good and Evil Corp

Popular Culture and Philosophy #109

by Richard Greene (editor), Rachel Robison-Greene (Editor)

Mr. Robot has been hailed, not only as one of the most haunting and unnerving dramas ever to appear on television, but also as the first accurate popular presentation of how computer hacking and cyberterrorism actually work. Mr. Robot and Philosophy is aimed at thoughtful fans of this addictive show who will welcome the opportunity to explore Elliot Alderson's world from a philosophical perspective.
       The developing story of Mr. Robot constantly raises ethical and metaphysical issues. What happens to our personal identity when it’s extended into cyberspace and an array of electronic devices? Are we in control of our online lives or are we being controlled? What does our right to privacy mean in a world where millions of people can observe what we’re doing and saying? Is a virtual currency true money and could it replace traditional money? Can there be healthy forms of drug addiction? Can some types of so-called mental illness be useful and beneficial?
       Does it make any sense to unleash destruction upon the existing corporate economic structures, and can we expect something better to emerge from the ruins of a digital meltdown?

Genres: Philosophy

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2017

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philosophy + Mr. Robot = Interesting read

A compilation which culls about 20 different examinations of specific aspects of Mr. Robot and runs them through different schools of philosophical thought. Fun for novice philosophy student, might be frustrating for the serious philosopher. I'm only two classes in to philosophical study and I am engrossed by Mr. Robot, so I enjoyed this book. I would recommend to any Mr. Robot fan, excepting the most easily distracted.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring me to "think" more.

A couple ideas stood out to me. I enjoyed one essay's concluding sentences of "The real revolution is embracing the chaos of ourselves. The real revolution is simply getting on the subway, getting off at the stop we want, sitting down somewhere and accepting ourselves, by enjoying all the beauty that our difference creates." (p.148, Rob Luzecky and Charlene Elsby "How to Become a Revolutionary") That seems like a pretty thought. Next was the definition of "fantastic storytelling as a conflict between reality and possibility [...] a crack in the real world." (p.202, Verena Ehrnberger "Please Tell Me You're Seeing This Too")

So many other ideas stood out, but those words came across to me as poetic in their context. Also, and maybe it was my being better rested earlier in the week of reading this book: Did the essays become progressively more complex in their use of language? I found my reading slowed down, but not quite in alignment with each of the six themed sections.

[Hina Ansari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one more than most, however, at one point, an essayist referred to Elliot alderson as Anderson. And more than half of the essays started with, ‘hello, friend,’ which got super repetitive. Like most of these books, the editor needed to make the essays different. This book suffers from also having been published before the series ended.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldnt get into it despite my love of the show

[Bruno Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reinforcedly.