The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy: You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned

by Jason T. Eberl, William Irwin, Kevin S. Decker

Does it take faith to be a Jedi? Are droids capable of thought? Should Jar Jar Binks be held responsible for the rise of the Empire? Presenting entirely new essays, no aspect of the myth and magic of George Lucas's creation is left philosophically unexamined in "The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy." The editors of the original "Star Wars and Philosophy" strike back in this "Ultimate" volume that encompasses the complete "Star Wars" universe Presents the most far-reaching examination of the philosophy behind "Star Wars" - includes coverage of the entire film catalogue to date as well as the Expanded Universe of novels, comics, television series, games and toys Provides serious explorations into the deeper meaning of George Lucas's philosophically rich creation Topics explored include the moral code of bounty-hunter favourite Boba Fett, Stoicism and the Jedi Order, the nature of the Dark Side, Anakin and Achilles in a nihilism face-off, feminism and being chained to a giant slug, cloning, de-extinction, fatherhood, Wookiees, loyalty, betrayal, guardians, republics, tyrants, terrorism, civic duty, friendship, family, and more! Publishing in time for the global release of "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens" on December 18, 2015 - hotly anticipated to become the first film to top $3 billion in worldwide box office sales

Genres: Philosophy, Star Wars, Nonfiction, Essays, Pop Culture, Audiobook, Ebooks

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[نرگس · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتابی برای دوستداران فلسفه یا دوستداران جنگ ستارگان، یا حتی بهتر، برای دوستداران فلسفه و جنگ ستارگان.
نویسندگان از مضامین موجود در مجموعه فیلم‌های جنگ ستارگان (شخصیت‌ها، رویدادها، روابط، موجودات غیرانسانی و ...) استفاده می‌کنند تا موضوعات فلسفی ساده یا دشوار را مطرح کنند و به برخی سوالات جالب و کنجکاوی‌برانگیز پاسخ بدهند.

[Ramón S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gusta la idea pero al final si no eres un fan total de Star Wars resulta cargante. A veces parece una camisa de fuerza que obliga a los filósofos a citar constantemente personajes o eventos del Universo Star Wars aunque no vengan al caso.
Es un “divertimento”.
El mejor John Thomson y su crítica a Star Wars

[Kat V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this is easy if you know Star Wars. I’ll be honest this is better than I expected. Ok some of these are excellent and some are severely lacking. Seems to taper off in quality the longer the book goes. Kind of hard to rate as some of the authors are much better than others. Individually these are between 2 and 5 stars but overall I guess I’ll just average it to 3 stars? I hope that’s fair

[Ismael Acosta Servetto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siento que pasé de Caballero Jedi a Maestro Jedi después de leer este libro.

[Luis Lastra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es complejo realizar un review de este libro, en especial siendo fan de Star Wars, por lo que resumiré en pocas palabras.

Para cuantificar el rating de este libro solo me baso en lo simple que identifica, relaciona, analiza y explica los puntos de vista filosóficos más importantes de nuestra historia a través del prisma de todo el poder ñoño que puede existir en una galaxia muy, muy lejana. Uno de esos libros que te deja pensando por días con solo una página, que te hace relacionar puntos que no habías dilucidado y, ciertamente, que hace que tu gusto por Star Wars sea vea amplificado ante las referencias y explicaciones entregadas.

¡Recomendado!

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Star Wars. It’s one of my favorite trilogies of all time - the originals of course (No special editions, please). The prequels and the sequels....those are another story, though prequel memes can be spicy.

My love of Star Wars and interest in philosophy made me pick up this book, which is a collection of essays written by a bunch of different academics. They identify scenes, characters, themes, etc. that align with the philosophies of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Kirkegaard, Campbell and others. The main stories focused on are the prequels, the OT, and some EU properties. The sequel trilogy had not yet been released upon publication, and honestly, there probably wasn’t much they could philosophize on from those anyway. Which leads to my next point: a lot of these essays seem to be a stretch.

In order to make some Star Wars elements align with some philosophical musings, was like putting a square peg in a round hole. While others made sense, others just seemed to be filler in a way, and some seemed like the writer had never seen Star Wars before. While some came off like some nerdy academic with a love of Decartes and Star Wars was asked to write an essay while feeling like it didn’t contribute much. It’s a mixed bag.

While there are good essays in this book, the whole thing can come off as “Philosophy for Dummies” with a sci-fi/fantasy candy coating. It’s just okay. If you’d like a quick overview of Plato and Aristotle while reading about your favorite space rebels, then go for it and have fun. But overall, it’s just okay, hence two stars.

May the Force be with you.

[Cecília Lorca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nesta obra, os autores Kevin S Decker e Jason T Eberl fazem um paralelo entre o Universo Srar Wars e a filosofia de Platão, Sócrates e Nietzsche. Discutem sobre o conceito de moralidade, do ser bom e ser mal, os valores humanos.



Comparando a tradição filosófica oriental e ocidental, tecento comentários sobre os ensinamentos de Aristóteles, Buda, Confúcio e os preceitos cristãos, judaicos e muçulmanos, o livro analisa as diversas passagens dos filmes da saga.



"Enquanto que os Jedi e Platão ensinam que a paz é o nosso objetivo maior na vida, Nietzsche e os Sith contra - argumentam dizendo que a paz que buscamos só é natural na sepultura, e que a vida não procura a paz, mas o poder."



Achei o livro fascinante e aprendi muito.





Eu sou Cecilia Lorca, professora aposentada e escritora apaixonada!

[FunkMaster General · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'll give all of these books 4, just for the idea.

[Fantasymundo · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Star Wars y la filosofía” en definitiva, nos muestra unos puntos de vista y cuestiones sobre los que quizás nunca te hayas parado a pensar en relación a la saga galáctica, desde un enfoque y un acercamiento a la filosofía que hay detrás muy ameno y divertido, con la intención de divulgar, entretener y aprender. Cada artículo resulta Seguir leyendo

[Eduardo Dávila Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star Wars y la filosofía es una fascinante colección de ensayos que conecta el vasto universo creado por George Lucas con las ideas de grandes pensadores, desde Aristóteles y Platón hasta filósofos contemporáneos. A lo largo de sus páginas, los autores examinan dilemas y conceptos universales como el respeto, la moral, la mente, el feminismo, y cuestiones éticas como la clonación, utilizando como ejemplo las películas, series y novelizaciones del mundo de Star Wars.

Los primeros ensayos destacan por su profundidad y originalidad, invitando al lector a explorar temas filosóficos relevantes a través del prisma de la Fuerza, los Jedi y los Sith. Sin embargo, a medida que se avanza, la calidad decae un poco. Algunos capítulos pierden la contundencia inicial, adoptando un tono más superficial que puede resultar menos estimulante para quienes buscan un enfoque académico sólido.

Además, la traducción presenta algunos errores y typos que, aunque no arruinan por completo la experiencia, pueden dificultar la fluidez de la lectura en ciertos momentos.

En conclusión, Star Wars y la filosofía es ideal para quienes disfrutan de la saga galáctica y desean aproximarse a preguntas filosóficas desde un enfoque entretenido y accesible. Aunque los primeros capítulos brillan con fuerza, la consistencia general puede ser irregular. Aún así, vale la pena explorar los momentos más reflexivos del libro.

#StarWars #Filosofía #LaFuerzaEsFilosófica
Recomiendo los capítulos iniciales.

[Ryan Denson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the other books in this series, this one offers a wide range of philosophical topics from theodicies of the force to ethical considerations of the Jedi order to the nature of cloning. Owing to the immense popularity of Star Wars, there was clearly so shortage in essay submission for this particular volume. The ones printed here are no doubt the most interesting that were received from passionate scholars of philosophy. It is a fantastic read for anyone interested in the franchise, though it is perhaps best for the really serious fans, who will immediately be familiar with the quotes and references, since the authors do not tend to explain much of the background for their topics.

Some of the essays that were especially well written and dealt with good topics: “Anakin and Achilles: Scars of Nihilism,” an intriguing comparison of the thought processes and motivation of Anakin and Homer’s Achilles; “Docile Bodies and a Viscous Force: Fear of the Flesh in Return of the Jedi,” an analysis of the “slave Leia” scene and its relevance to contemporary views of the body; “Why the Force Must Have a Dark Side,” an application of different theodicies to the nature of the force; “Epic Myth-Understandings and Myth-Appropriations in Star Wars,” a critique of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth and why we should all look for more depth in storytelling; “Star Wars, Emotions, and the Paradox of Fiction,” a presentation of several theories on why fictional stories engender such passionate emotions for viewers.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has happened to me so many times, yet here again is another perfect example of this scenario:

Slow/rough start... questioning myself if I should continue... I stick it out, and it ends up being one of the very best books I've ever touched. This is exactly how The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy started out for me.

This is absolute gold (or should I say kyber crystal).

My unedited notes:

● Star Wars + Greek Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy, Nietzsche, Christianity, Nihilism, and Stoicism - extremely interesting
● Terrorism theory deep dive on both rebellion and empire - very well done
● Aliens, droids, and Clone rights - fun
● Boba Fett, mercenary work, and ethics
● Jar Jar deep dive, giving power to Palp
● Luke and Vader Philosophy deep dive
● Would have liked to see more Yoda. Feels like a missed opportunity
● Analysis of the concept of loyalty
● Leia, Padme, and feminism - best fem explanation I've ever heard
● Fat vs Skinny (Jabba focus)
● All life deserves reverence and its valuable. Fun. "Schweitzer."
● "Who shot first debate."
● SpaceBalls
● Human emotions and reactions to star wars; the paradox of fiction
● George Lucas doing the Canon / Legendary split
● 1000% = a much deserved 5/5 star rating.

Absolutely LOVED this. Hardcore/diehard Star Wars fans, this will take your Star Wars experience to a whole new level.

[Nicis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool (really nerdy) stuff!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed and/or found insightful in some way almost every chapter in this book.

It’s hard to choose, but my favorite one would probably be “Why the Force Must Have a Dark Side”. It’s by the best explanation I’ve heard so far on the matter. This book actually has a lot of chapter which better explain the Dark Side and the Sith, which is really nice because it’s something I didn’t not really understand very deeply from the movies.

Below are a few other especially memorable chapters.

The Jedi Knights of Faith: Anakin, Luke, and Søren (Kierkegaard)
Only through the leap of faith of throwing away his lightsaber after overpowering Darth Vader was Luke about to turn his father back to the light side of the Force.

Dark Times: The end of the Republic and the Beginning of Chinese Philosophy
This is a really cool comparison of historical and philosophical parallels between the Chinese Spring and Autumn period during which Confucius lived and period of the “Dark Times” of the Star Wars universe, between the establishment of the Empire by Palpatine in the year 19 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) and the death of the Emperor and Darth Vader twenty-three years later. It covers several case studies of Jedi who survived Order 66 and how they dealt with the ethical and philosophical problems in that troubled period, which parallels the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese philosophy.

Light Side, Dark Side, and Switching Sides: Loyalty and Betrayal in Star Wars
This makes some really good point about loyalty that I had never thought of, using examples from the Star Wars universe. For example, people have a complex web of loyalties: to family, friends, coworkers, institutions, governments, and countries. Leia is loyal to her home planet of Alderaan but Luke sees no value in loyalty to his own home planet of Tatooine. Possibly because of this complex web of different and competing loyalties, loyalty isn’t necessarily good at resolving moral dilemmas for us. Nevertheless, loyalty is often seen as a valuable trait in a person because loyal people commit themselves to causes and to other people.

Gospel, Gossip, and Ghent: How Should We Understand the New Star Wars?
First of all, I had no idea Star Wars canon was so complex, with multiple layers. More importantly, in regard to the quote with spoilers below from the book:

While many fans balked at the death of Chewbacca in the first novel of the New Jedi Order series, Vector Prime – crushed by a falling moon while saving Han and Leia's son, Anakin Solo – the stories that followed, depicting Han's grief, anger, and ultimate recovery from this tragedy, give tremendous insight into Han's character that fans are now deprived of under the new canon/noncanon criterion. Of course, these stories can still be taken to be relevant to our understanding of the Star Wars fiction in the indirect way that formerly N Canon works were relevant: they tell us how Han would have reacted if Chewbacca had died in this manner. But they no longer tell us how Han did react when Chewbacca in fact died this way. If these stories no longer count as canonical, then this means that Lucasfilm has changed the nature of the saga's central characters.

Somehow reading this, I feel okay knowing how he would react, if it’s no longer canon. The author’s explanation actually led me to a different conclusion than the author himself. It actually helped to soften my view about the Star Wars Legends vs the New Canon. I’m feel more able to enjoy both.

[Zhelana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really interesting, crossing over philosophers with Star Wars canon and even some non-canon Star Wars material. It included many of the most philosophers in history from Aristotle and Plato to Descartes, but also included some newer material that you've only heard of if you've made a concerted effort to study philosophy over the past 40 years that Star Wars has been out. Some of the newer topics of discussion include using action figures to develop a theory of mind and whether Lucas has the authority to tell us what is and isn't canon regarding some of our favorite stories that are now labeled AU (the book concludes that Lucas does not have this authority). We also discuss whether Wookiees have a real language, and whether droids are moral agents, and even what this means for Darth Vader who is mostly machine but still a little bit human.

I was quite impressed with this book, and have picked up another in the series, this one on Harry Potter. I hope it is as good.

[Sina · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب اصلی: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ترجمهٔ فارسی: ⭐⭐

اولین کتاب از جنس بررسی عنصری از فرهنگ عامه از دیدگاه فلسفی بود که می‌خوندم. خیلی وقت بود که قصد داشتم برم سراغش و بالاخره همراه با بازبینی فیلم‌ها و سریال‌های «جنگ‌های ستاره‌ای» کتاب رو هم شروع کردم.

در جستارهای مختلف از زوایای مختلفی به جهان جنگ‌های ستاره‌ای نگاه شده -که بعضی‌هاش به ذهن یک ببینندهٔ معمولی خطور نمی‌کنه. ترکیب مطالب خود مجموعه مناسب و متنوع بود، اما ترجمهٔ کار چندان روان نیست و بعضا با دست‌انداز مواجه میشه.

جستارهایی که بیشتر از بقیه جذاب بود و توجهم رو جلب کرد:

Chapter 1: The Platonic Paradox of Darth Plagueis: How Could a Sith Lord Be Wise?

Chapter 3: The Jedi Knights of Faith: Anakin, Luke, and Søren (Kierkegaard)

Chapter 8: How Guilty Is Jar Jar Binks?

Chapter 18: What Is It Like to Be a Jedi? A Life in the Force

Chapter 21: Can Chewie Speak? Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Language

Chapter 22: Can the Zillo Beast Strike Back? Cloning, De-extinction, and the Species Problem

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was lent this book to read, being an avid Star Wars fan. The book was published after the Expanded Universe (EU) was rendered non-canon and prior to Episodes 7-9. It's a collection of essays on a wide range of topics all intended to explore deeper philosophical and cultural impacts of Star Wars. Some of the essays lean quite heavily into EU material so if you haven't read much of that, it will be less meaningful to you. Overall it's a really deep heavy read. I was tempted several times to stop reading as some of the essays just got to be too much. But I persisted. This book is truly only for the super hard-core Star Wars fan who isn't put off by a dense and pedagogical structure.

[Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obra fundamental para toda persona amante de la filosofía y de Star Wars. Introduce numerosas analogías (algunas un poco forzadas), tal y como es de esperar, que relacionan la saga con ideas de autores como Kant, Platón, San Agustín, Sócrates, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche o Simone de Beuvoir. La parte negativa es que a veces su análisis filosófico puede resultar meramente superficial y simple, pudiendo ser más profundo, que es lo que yo buscaba, es decir, profundidad de principio a fin. De todos modos, de la obra se pueden sacar varias cuestiones filosóficas interesantes con aplicación a nuestra realidad.

[Nicolás Briozzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como aproximación a la filosofía, no deja de ser un material por demás básico, pero la aplicación que hace al universo Star Wars es interesante.
Los diferentes ensayos, escritos por diferentes estudiosos, hacen que la obra sea despareja en calidad.
Rescato particularmente el capítulo dedicado al feminismo y al papel de la mujer en la saga, el capítulo que habla de clonación y des-extinción, y el capítulo dedicado al debate sobre la "humanidad" de los droides.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

No ha estado mal sobre todo los primeros capítulos. Después baja un poco, y ya se les va con el capítulo feminista hembrista, y alguna línea suelta después, para volver a la línea media al final.
Muy interesante siempre leer sobre cuestiones filosóficas. La traducción (supongo que no sea el original) tiene algunos fallos. Deja con ganas de leer más sobre el universo expandido de Star Wars.

[Diego Said Grilli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Comencé a leer este libro como fanático de Star wars y termine profundamente decepcionado. Hace una comparación entre la cultura Jedi/Sith y la filosofía antigua que desde mi punto de vista tiene poco que ver. George lucas se debe estar revolcando a pesar que ya destruyo la saga con la venta a Disney

[Parham · Rating 5 out of 5]

خواندن این کتاب برای طرفدارهای دنیای جنگ ستارگان می‌تونه جذاب باشه.
توی تعطیلات عید ۱۴۰۰ تصمیم گرفتم شش گانه‌ی جنگ ستارگان رو ببینم. بعد از اون، اومدم سراغ خواندن این کتاب.
موضوعات و سرفصل‌هایی که در کتاب مطرح می‌شه هم باعث درک بهتر و عمیق‌تر داستان می‌شه و هم نگاه شما رو به این مجموعه متحول می‌کنه و باعث می‌شه سوالات عمیق و فلسفی درباره‌ی وقایع و حوادث جنگ ستارگان بپرسید.

[Andrés Estay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me entretuvo bastante ya que cada ensayo tomada un elemento de la saga y lo analizaba mediante el uso de la teoría social y la filosofía, pero de una manera sencilla y para nada pretenciosa. A pesar de ser un libro de filosofía en ningún caso se hizo tediosa su lectura, sino todo lo contrario.

Recomendado!

[Ihor Kolesnyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Гарна колективна монографія для фанів зоряних війн. Різні теми, різні тексти і автори - це водночас перевага і недолік книги, бо рівень та цікавість текстів буде бути дуже індивідуальною.

Також можна відкрити нові прізвища ще живих дослідників із різних царин науки, до яких можна зазирнути у пошуках натхнення і джерел.

[Eduardo Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si te gusta star Wars y quieres saber buenas analogías de filosofía es un libro que te puede gustar. No es una narración, sino que van analizando desde distintas perspectivas filosóficas ciertos tópicos de star Wars.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably more like a 1.5 stars honestly. While certain parts of this book were intriguing, there are many parts that deal with minor things in the Star Wars universe that since I am not the biggest Star Wars fan, I never cared about what I was reading.

[Boris Morales Rios · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido, aunque algunos ensayos no me parecieron tan interesantes y otros requerían cierto nivel de conocimiento del antiguo universo expandido, los mejores ensayos son los iniciales, luego va perdiendo un poco de ese carácter entretenido

[vick moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eu amo Star Wars e curto muito filosofia. Quando você histórias desse universo fazendo um contraste com as correntes filosóficas é simplesmente incrível, além de que te faz refletir e questionar muito!

[Adam Tryhorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't read too much into this book. If you do, it might take away some of your enjoyment of Star Wars. After all, they are just movies and novels. This book takes the enjoyment to an unnecessary level.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book, I borrowed it from a library and will be buying it in the future. While having in depth knowledge of the Star Wars franchise is an added bonus, anyone can relate to the honest and plain way the authors breakdown fundamental philosophies.