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Family Guy and Philosophy
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  • Wiley

More About This Title Family Guy and Philosophy

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Family Guy and Philosophy brings together low-brow, potty-mouthed, cartoon humor and high-brow philosophical reflection to deliver an outrageously hilarious and clever exploration of one of TV’s most unrelenting families. Ok, it’s not that high-brow.

  • A sharp, witty and absurd exploration of one of television’s most unrelenting families, the stars of one of the biggest-selling TV series ever on DVD, now in its fourth season
  • Tackles the perennial positions of Family Guy at the same time as contemplating poignant philosophical issues
  • Takes an introspective look at what this show can teach us about ethics, ego, religion, death, and of course, time-travel
  • Considers whether Family Guy is really a vehicle for conservative politics, and whether we should be offended by the show, as well as diving into the philosophy of the cast
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J. Jeremy Wisnewski is Assistant Professor at Hartwick College. He is the author of Wittgenstein and Ethical Inquiry: A Defense of Ethics as Clarification (2007) and The Politics of Agency: Toward a Pragmatic Approach to Philosophical Anthropology (2008). He is also the editor of The Office and Philosophy (Blackwell, 2008).
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Acknowledgments: These people are freakin’ sweet [Acknowledgments].

You Better Not Read This, Pal: An Introduction to Family Guy and Philosophy: J. Jeremy Wisnewski.

Part I. Those Good Ole’ Fashion Values on which we used to rely.

1. Killing the Griffins: A Murderous Exposition of Postmodernism: J. Jeremy Wisnewski (Hartwick College).

2. Family Guy and God: Should Believers Take Offense?: Ray J. VanArragon (Bethel University).

3. Quagmire, Virtue, and Perversity: Shaun Miller (Weber State University).

4. Francis Griffin and the Church of the Holy Fonz: Religious Exclusivism and "Real" Religion: David Kyle Johnson (King's College).

Part II. Lucky there’s a family guy! (And what a family!).

5. Let Us Now Praise Clueless Men: Peter Griffin and Philosophy: Jerry Samet (Brandeis University).

6. Lois: Portrait of a Mother (Or, Nevermind Death, Motherhood is a Bitch): Stephanie Empey (University of California, Riverside).

7. Mmmyez: Stewie and the Seven Deadly Sins: Sharon M. Kaye (John Carroll University).

8. The Other Children: The Significance of Meg and Chris: P. Sue Dohnimm.

9. He Thinks He’s People: How Brian Made Personhood for the Dogs: Daniel Malloy (Appalachian State University).

Part III. He-he-he-he-he. You expected more lyrics, but you’re getting logic, comedy, and the logic of comedy.

10. The Logic of Expectation: Family Guy and the Non Sequitur: Jonah P.B. Goldwater (Baruch College).

11. What Are You Laughing At (And Why)? Exploring the Humor of Family Guy: Andrew Terjesen (Washington and Lee University).

12. Thinkin’ is Freakin’ Sweet: Family Guy and Fallacies: Robert Arp (Florida State University).

13. The Simpsons Already Did It! This Show Is A Freakin’ Rip-Off!: Shai Biderman (Boston University) and William J. Devlin (Boston University).

Part IV. Family Problems.

14. Is Brian More of a “Person” than Peter? Of Wills, Wantons, and Wives: Mark D. White (College of Staten Island).

15. The Ego is a Housewife Named Lois: Robert Sharp (University of Alabama).

16. The Lives and Times of Stewie Griffin: Tuomas Manninen (Arizona State University West).

17. Kierkegaard and the Norm (MacDonald) of Death: Adam Buben (University of South Florida).

Appendix: Everything you ever needed to know about Meg Griffin, as compiled by the contributors.

Notes on Contributors: What the deuce!?! They’re real! (Most of them, anyway) [Contributor Bios].

Index: He-he-he-he-he-he … You read books [Index]

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“Maddening in its irreverent audacity, this book reminds me of an old girlfriend: iconoclastic and argumentative, occasionally insane but always entertaining, with a soul of which Stewie could be proud. I couldn’t pull myself away!”
Dave Baggett, editor of Harry Potter and Philosophy and Hitchcock and Philosophy<!--end-->

“This book doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever, which obviously means it’s brilliant.”
Joey Green, author of The Bathroom Professor: Philosophy on the Go

"Author cooks up a big bowl of philosophy stew while exposing the Family Guy for what it is; a beacon of post-modernism."
TLChicken.com

“It is a rare opportunity to philosophically deconstruct life's absurdities … . We can laugh in the face of life's troublesome ideas and attempt to understand them.” Associated Content

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