The Question Unanswered

“A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, and a healthy helping of popular culture clears the cobwebs from Kant.  Philosophy has had a public relations problem for a few centuries now.  This series aims to change that, showing that philosophy is relevant to your life–and not just for answering the big questions like “To be or not to be?” but for answering the little questions: “To watch or not to watch House?”  Thinking deeply about TV, movies, and music doesn’t make you a “complete idiot.”  In fact it might make you a philosopher, someone who believes the unexamined life is not worth living and the unexamined cartoon is not worth watching.” _Blackwell

Earlier in the day you were sitting on that Blue Velvet, Value City couch, watching a Matrix marathon and wondering about the ramifications of taking pills from strangers. You are not alone. Wandering aimlessly through your local chain bookstore, rummaging for some intellectual brain food to stimulate the internal dialogue you now have running about the possibilities of a reality, within a reality, within a reality and what that means for defining what’s “real”, when you stumble upon The Matrix and Philosophy, a book published By Open Court Press.

Welcome thinker, welcome to the Rabbit Hole…

Sitting there staring at andphilosophy.com, the blog for the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop-Culture series, look at the red brain equating to “and philosophy” one begins to wonder where the trend arose.

 It arose from thought.

William Irwin a professor at Kings College and Editor/ trendsetting-creator said that the “idea of combining philosophy and pop-culture came out of the classroom.” Whether one is in an academic setting or not, students of life and of the classroom can find philosophical dialogue off-putting and intimidating.  “My approach has been to meet them halfway by illustrating philosophy by using examples from pop-culture,” Irwin said.  Irwin found like-minded professors, who were also introducing students to philosophy through the socio-cultural objects surrounding them, and thusly, the rise of pop-culture philosophy was born.

I find myself staring at my copy of Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy (another Blackwell book) and wondering about what it says for society, or human nature. Do people have a natural tendency to be inquisitive? Do we wonder about the world, the creatures in it, and the possibility of those things that transcend it? Karen Hoffman thinks so.

Professor Hoffman is the head of the Philosophy Department at Hood College. Along with being a professor, she has published several articles on philosophy and film in books for the University Press of Kentucky. “Most children ask interesting philosophical questions. Many of us have a tendency to lose some of that wonder along the way,” She said.

What brings us back to that natural, inherent, inquisitiveness then?  It is realization. Philosophy is not just for the starch academic, with their stereotypical tweed blazer and elbow patches. It is in everything.  “Pointing out its connections to popular culture can help people to see the connections between philosophy and real life.

Why is it important that individuals think through some of the implications and theoretical significance of things that interest them? Why is it important that philosophy can enrich our experiences of pop-culture and enable us to understand that entertainment can be thought provoking and significant to the human experience? Why is it important that the accessibility of philosophical thought be less constrained and the definitions broadened?

In short, because our minds are thirsty, and understanding a cup that can never be filled.

            Because who says that the passionate ethical system of the federation can’t be applied to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict? That the journey of Strange Girl can’t be applied to actual religious coffee table conversation over some generic tasting overly priced mocha latte, while you’re your friend tweets of the passionate love, as both a creative and destructive force, found within the End of Alice?

Philosophy is in everything, and that means everything.   Just think of cultural philosophy (pop or otherwise),  the reader, the lead cast as Neo, the writer Morpheus, and the thought, the singular entity that drives reality, as Voltaire’s conception of God. Even if it didn’t exist, we would find a way to invent it.

“Philosophy encourages people to seek meaning, to think critically and to question some of their assumptions. We need more of that in the world today,’ Hoffman said.

So you tell me while you are sitting back with your ice cold Coke product, and a half eaten bag of Doritos, a copy of Woody Allen and Philosophy on your coffee table, and watching reruns of 30 Rock, while twiddling your orange dust finger tips. Is the unexamined life worth living?