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Popular Culture and Philosophy #43
The Golden Compass and Philosophy: God Bites the Dust
The popularity of the His Dark Materials trilogy has generated a major motion picture, a stage play, video games, and a new prequel. The series has also been highly controversial with its use of exciting adventure stories for children to comment on organized religion. These books have piqued the interest of the contributors to this fascinating volume, who use it to probe the philosophical issues that inform them. Could a golden compass, or alethiometer, really work? Can a person's soul or daemon have a mind of its own? What are the ramifications of pursuing the diabolical "intercision" process, or of trying to bring about the death of God, a plot that Lyra and her mysterious Father struggle over? These are some of the questions explored by these essays that try to get to the heart of Lyra's bewildering, inspiring, and multifaceted world.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2009
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170 people want to read
About the author
Richard V. Greene
7 books7 followersRichard V. Greene is a Professor of Philosophy at Weber State University. He is involved with research in metaphysics, the history of modern philosophy, medical ethics, and philosophical topics related to pop culture. He is also the Executive Director of the Society for Skeptical Studies, a philosophical society formed to promote discussion and research on topics related to skepticism.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 16, 2019
The Golden Compass and Philosophy: God Bites the Dust looks at the philosophical questions posed by Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials fantasy series. Featuring 13 articles, various authors discuss, among other things, how Pullman’s “Authority” measures up to the Judeo-Christian God, the cosmology of the series, and whether death is bad. While the authors are clearly fans of the series, they do a good job at bringing a critical eye to the material and addressing the criticisms levied against it. They also explain the philosophical concepts and theories quite well, and directly relate them to the books’ characters and plot-lines. That’s not to say that all the articles hit, but overall they’re quite thought-provoking and deliver some interesting insights. Full of engaging discussions, The Golden Compass and Philosophy: God Bites the Dust is one of the better entries in the Popular Culture and Philosophy series.
December 28, 2015
I picked this up as a source for an analytic paper concerning Lyra's nature. After I finished my paper and my class I was craving more discussion on Pullman and his world. This volume is very informative. I flagged and highlighted in almost every chapter. I fully plan to research and learn more about the concepts, philosophers, and arguments presented here. I love the perspectives on theology, Nietzsche, death, and the ever present 'self'. There is a variety of view points presented and I appreciate that.
That being said, in reading this I have found that the essays truer to philosophical discussion frustrated me. I am not a fan of circular arguments (when you read the bit about "but what if you're dreaming you'll see what I mean). There were a few times the concepts became dense and I had to put the book down. I appreciate those bits being in there (this is a philosophy book after all), but I had to dock a star for the experience I had reading the book. If you're the least bit interested beginning to delve into Pullman's layers, definitely check it out!
That being said, in reading this I have found that the essays truer to philosophical discussion frustrated me. I am not a fan of circular arguments (when you read the bit about "but what if you're dreaming you'll see what I mean). There were a few times the concepts became dense and I had to put the book down. I appreciate those bits being in there (this is a philosophy book after all), but I had to dock a star for the experience I had reading the book. If you're the least bit interested beginning to delve into Pullman's layers, definitely check it out!
June 18, 2013
Interesting discussion of His Dark Materials. At times a little boring, and at others, not in line with my interpretation of the trilogy. Still, HDM are some of my all time favorite books so any discussion of them is enjoyable.
August 9, 2014
An interesting look into the thoughts behind the Golden Compass.
August 19, 2020
Greene, Richard V., and Rachel Robinson, editors. The Golden Compass and Philosophy: God Bites the Dust. Open Court, 2009.
If you are interested in the theological controversy around Philip Pullman and the His Dark Materials trilogy, this is a tolerably useful collection of essays. Note that the essays do talk about the entire trilogy, not just The Golden Compass, as the title suggests. Max Auxier does a good job of detailing some of Pullman’s uses and misuses of Milton and Nietzsche. I would have liked to hear more about Pullman’s specific criticisms of Tolkien and Lewis. That HDM builds a world in which characters discover that the afterlife is not something to which we should aspire and that religious institutions suck at guiding our ethical decisions is without doubt. Other than that, it is hard to see what the fuss was about. Almost every coming-of-age story teaches its heroes and heroines to think for themselves. Do we really need a lot of Milton to do it?
If you are interested in the theological controversy around Philip Pullman and the His Dark Materials trilogy, this is a tolerably useful collection of essays. Note that the essays do talk about the entire trilogy, not just The Golden Compass, as the title suggests. Max Auxier does a good job of detailing some of Pullman’s uses and misuses of Milton and Nietzsche. I would have liked to hear more about Pullman’s specific criticisms of Tolkien and Lewis. That HDM builds a world in which characters discover that the afterlife is not something to which we should aspire and that religious institutions suck at guiding our ethical decisions is without doubt. Other than that, it is hard to see what the fuss was about. Almost every coming-of-age story teaches its heroes and heroines to think for themselves. Do we really need a lot of Milton to do it?
June 17, 2019
This book is ridiculous.
Most of these essays were just opinionated nonsense. This is exactly what it appears to be - a bunch of people paid to write something about His Dark Materials and connect it to some kind of philosophical principles. None of these essays were up to par with anything I had to write and turn in in my college philosophy classes. The primary work (His Dark Materials) was hardly cited. You got to prove to me, by using Philip Pullman's work, his ACTUAL words, and relate them to whatever philosophical idea that is being discussed. This was all paraphrased crap. How disappointing.
Most of these essays were just opinionated nonsense. This is exactly what it appears to be - a bunch of people paid to write something about His Dark Materials and connect it to some kind of philosophical principles. None of these essays were up to par with anything I had to write and turn in in my college philosophy classes. The primary work (His Dark Materials) was hardly cited. You got to prove to me, by using Philip Pullman's work, his ACTUAL words, and relate them to whatever philosophical idea that is being discussed. This was all paraphrased crap. How disappointing.
January 23, 2022
If you're obsessed with HDM (ofc you are, why else are you reading this) this rates as 'satisfactory'. One great essay (the first includes a DOPE fan theory), a few good ones, and many average ones. But hey, it's that thing, the thing you like! so you'll enjoy it anyway.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews