Avatar: The Last Airbender and Philosophy: Wisdom from Aang to Zuko

by Johan De Smedt (Editor), Helen De Cruz (Editor), William Irwin (Series Editor)

Would our world be a better place if some of us were benders? Can Katara repair the world through care? Is Toph a disability pride icon? What does it mean for Zuko to be bad at being good? Can we tell whether uncle Iroh is a fool or a sage? The world is out of sorts. The four nations, Water, Earth, Fire, and Air, are imbalanced because of the unrelenting conquest of the Fire Nation. The only one who can restore balance to the world is the Avatar. On the face of it, The Last Airbender is a story about a lone superhero. However, saving the world is a team effort, embodied in Team Avatar, aka the Gaang. Aang needs help from his friends and tutors, even from non-human animals. Through the teachings of Guru Pathik and Huu he comes to realize that though the world and its nations seem separate, we are all one people. We all have the same roots and we are all branches of the same tree. The Last Airbender and Philosophy brings to the fore the Eastern, Western, and Indigenous philosophies that are implicit in the show. Following Uncle Iroh’s advice that it is important to draw wisdom from many traditions, this volume features contributions by experts on Buddhist, Daoist, Confucian, and Indigenous schools of thought, next to focusing on Western classical authors such as Plotinus, Kant, and Merleau-Ponty. The volume is also unique in drawing on less common traditions such as black abolitionism, anarchism, and the philosophy of martial arts. Intertwining experience and reflection, ATLA and Philosophy helps readers to deeply engage with today’s burning questions, such as how to deal with ecological destruction, the aftermath of colonialism and genocide, and wealth inequality, using the tools from a wide range of philosophical traditions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy

288 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2022

Reviews

[Dylan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for different schools of philosophical thought, and the expansive world of Avatar has long been important to me. I wasn't sure what to expect from this collection, but it was fascinating and educational, broken up into several different situations, characters, and tropes that the original TV series (both Avatar and Legend of Korra) and following canon from graphic novels and expanded novels look at. None of this book felt too high-education or dry either.

[Cal Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a brilliant selection of papers on one of my favourite shows. The authors were extremely creative in their focus and raised some deep and powerful issues. From metaphysics to ethics, using ATLA as a springboard, this book brings philosophy to life.

[Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved diving deeper into Avatar. Expanded my perspective on lots of events and characters in the series.

Some of the essays went over my head. I think having some basic philosophy knowledge would’ve helped me.

[Sandy]

I was introduced to this book by one of my past professors, Miranda Belarde-Lewis who informed us that she had written a piece along with a partner for a book about the philosophy of Avatar the Last Airbender. I love ATLA so much I was immediately intrigued and read their article on the bus ride home from class. It wasn’t until months later that I felt the desire to get a hold of and read the whole book.

Off the bat I just love how books like this, and the series it is contained in, make learning about perceived academic topics, such as philosophy more accessible, and enjoyable, to everyone. There is definitely an intimidation factor when it comes to academic topics and writing such as philosophy but all the contributors did such a good job, although there were admittedly a few times I just had to forge on without completely comprehending what I was reading. There were so many essays though and it occurred so few times that I was really able to enjoy the in depth discussion and application of the concepts involved.

I 100% also left this book with a greater understanding and appreciation for ATLA as these essays brought up ideas that I had never considered and would not have otherwise. It just makes me love ATLA even more than I already do.

I love video essays and things like that that really delve deep into various media and help to reveal and heighten the meaning present in the story. I think I also just appreciated how this book brings the worlds of academia and fun together in a way that shows that they are not as entirely separate as we think they are and that those perceptions are socially and culturally constructed but are not in fact natural.

[Alex Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of essays spanning many philosophical disciplines and topics. In particular, the diversity of authors and frequency of chapters surrounding Native American and Asian philosophy enriched and opened up the world of ATLA in very creative and engaging ways. I highly recommend this to any fan of the series!

[Matthew Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed revisiting the series and thinking about it more philosophically. Some of the essays were more interesting to me than others, but worth a read if you enjoy philosophy and are a fan of the show!

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listening as an audiobook so I altered the speed and pitch as I usually do, but still can't stand the readers' voice.
6:30 "by virtue of his, or rarely her..." Ahh shit, it's one of those books. We'll see how far I get.
Maybe if more authors wrote stories with female chosen ones/heroes, instead of books whining there aren't enough chosen/saviour stories featuring a female chosen one, then they wouldn't complain about the lack of female chosen ones in fictional stories.

19:40 It's quite revisionist to attribute "As above, so below." To the Lakota as a 'saying' of "the same as above, as below." with no historical records of them saying it first, or even at all, just their "oral history from the beginning of time." 🙄
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_ab...
Good try, but no.

2:45:30 The ojibwe perspective is clearly better than the standard western perspective. Of course you shouldn't use panindigenous similarities as an understanding of indigenous culture at large, because it creates stereotypes. Indigenous culture, even within tribes, is more nuanced than that. But all westerners are basically the same with the same standard western perspective. - Author of this part.

3:10:14 Sounds like this person just wants to really justify their PETA beliefs or desire to Fk animals...

3:14:50 20 years of Aikido, Shotokan karate, Kendo, Tai Chi, and Baguazhang. So 20 years of pretending to fight and being a Martial Larpist. This person is definitely an expert in fake martial arts.

6:22:39 I'm done with this. Hard to take seriously a bunch of leftists who complain about people not looking into feminist or other perspectives when they themselves do not do this.
There is not a single right wing, or non-leftist perspective, in this book thus far.

The authors just keep whining about old white cis men.
I will not keep reading a book with content written by ageist, racist, or sexist writers.

[Saravanan Mani · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with any essay collection, there are some uneven essays and some outright silly ones. Like the one that tried to argue for the rationality of different ways of knowing but picked the weakest evidence with the fortune teller. Some essays were quite strong. Esp those which focused on ethics, lying, disability. The editor could've come down a bit strongly on some writers who tends to overuse limited and unhelpful vocabulary like, contemporary philosopher x y z says, in the same essay. Definitely for the fans who want to see how some interesting viewpoints of their favourite show is discussed. Some essays should be skipped for a better reading experience.

[jessa ☘︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

so expansive and diverse in the schools of thoughts & philosophical approaches that are touched upon! this just further deepened my love and heightened my appreciation for the masterpiece that’s A:TLA, my first love 🩵
the parts about zuko resonated with me most deeply - truly a character modelled after my heart. 10-year old me fell for his cutie face & 24-year old me is still head over heels for him but now i truly feel so seen by this gorgeous character: his struggle to overcome his origins & enacting self-compassion to forgive himself despite the bumps he faces in his journey to become a kinder, “good” person…as someone who struggles so much with my own self-perceived “bad” nature & self-blame, i will definitely come reference zuko’s journey to self-actualization.
i wish more than anything that i belonged to the A:TLA universe, my ideal way of life aligns so well with the practices of benders :,)

[Fyri · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an amateur philosopher, this lived up to my expectations and desires.

It covers so many different aspects of the show and teaches philosophical concepts through the lens of the characters and worldbuilding and considers them beside real world comparisons. I listened to the audiobook and I would now like to own a physical copy to reread, write notes in the margins, and reference in days to come. I've already started relistening to the section about guilt and blame with Katara and Iroh as the main topics.

Ugh! There are so many sections too with amazing teachings both for real life applications and for consideration as I write my own stories and characters. This was my first dive into reading books that analyze philosophy through the lens of pop culture and I think I will start making a new home here. XD

[Pearlyn Chua · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays exploring philosophical concepts in the context of ATLA. They vary quite a bit in quality: some read like solid soci essays ft. USP-style close reading (with motive, thesis, and all), while some seem like a hodgepodge of observations in a stream of consciousness, loosely grouped around a particular theme. Overall reasonably interesting to listen to and ponder, especially since I hold the series quite dear (despite having yet to properly finish it 'til now lol; am partway through Book 3: Fire!).

[Carlos Dragonné · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es una coleccion de ensayos sobre las visiones filosoficas de Avatar. Si bien hay nuchas cosas super valiosas, también hay otras que -sin demeritar- se entiende el sesgo de quienes la escriben. Pero vale mucho la pena entender la visión diversa de la filosofía desde puntos de vista que van del Daoísmo hasta las tribus nativo americanas. Siempre he dicho que esta serie debería ser obligatoria para los niños de entre 10 y 13 y luego volverla a ver en la Universidad. Buen libro en general.

[Emily ☕ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I technically haven't finished reading this because I only read the essays that are of specific interest to me, however I don't remember which ones I haven't read. Although, I can say with certainty from what I've read that this is an absolute masterpiece containing all the things I love. The loss of a star is because one or two of them either had slightly false information, or just points that I didn't agree with about the show!

[Vasilis Stefanou · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are an Avatar The Last Airbender fan, read it. If you are a philosophy person, read it. I'm both and I couldn't recommend it enough. It has 32 contributors who are philosophy lecturers, indigenous people and/or martial artists, explaining the various philosophical ideas and depth of Avatar, as well as Korra sometimes. Imperialism, politics, indigenous wisdom, spirituality, ethics, disability issues and human nature, to name a few, are some of the subjects mentioned.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great read into so many different aspects of philosophy not only of the Avatar world but of the real world as well. I have been interested in Buddhist and Native American philosophy for a little while, and this has definitely made me more intrigued into what it can do for me.

[Santiago Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of interesting essay on ATLA. Not all are interesting, but there’s golden nuggets here & there!

[Nick Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Refreshingly diverse among the "...and Philosophy" series.