Thinking Through Film

THINKING THROUGH FILM Thinking Through Film provides the best introduction available to the diverse relationships between film and philosophy. Clearly written and persuasively argued, it will benefit students of both film and philosophy. Thomas E. Wartenberg, Mount Holyoke College, author of Thinking on Screen: Film as Philosophy Cox and Levine’s admirable Thinking Through Film picks up where Philosophy Goes to the Movies left off, arguing that films not only do philosophy but, in some cases, do it better than philosophers! The result is a rich and rewarding examination of films – from metaphysical thought experiments, personal identity puzzles, to reflections on the meaning of life – that shows, in bracing, no-nonsense fashion, how popular cinema can do serious philosophy. —Robert Sinnerbrink, Macquarie University Thinking Through Film: Doing Philosophy, Watching Movies examines a broad range of philosophical issues though film, as well as issues about the nature of film itself. Using film as a means of philosophizing, it combines the experience of viewing films with the exploration of fundamental philosophical issues. It offers readers the opportunity to learn about philosophy and film together in an engaging way, and raises philosophical questions about films and the experience of films. Film is an extremely valuable way of exploring and discussing topics in philosophy. Readers are introduced to a broad range of philosophical issues though film, as well as to issues about the nature of film itself – a blend missing in most recent books on philosophy and film. Cox and Levine bring a critical eye to philosophical-film discussions throughout.

Preface vii Acknowledgments x Part I Philosophy and Film 1 1 Why Film and Philosophy? 3 2 Philosophy and Film Spectatorship 23 Part II Epistemology and Metaphysics 47 3 Knowing What's What in Total Recall 49 4 Ontology and The Matrix 65 5 It's All in the Mind: AI Artifi cial Intelligence and Robot Love 79 6 La Jetée and the Promise of Time Travel 98 Part III The Human Condition 113 7 Fate and Choice: The Philosophy of Minority Report 115 8 Personal Identity: The Case of Memento 132 9 The Spectacle of Horror: Funny Games 147 10 Looking for Meaning in All the Wrong Places: Ikiru ("To Live") 170 Part IV Ethics and Values 189 11 Crimes and Misdemeanors and the Fragility of Moral Motivation 191 12 The Lives of Others: Moral Luck and Regret 209 13 The Dark Knight: Batman on Deontology and Consequentialism 228 14 Dangerous Childhood: La Promesse and the Possibility of Virtue 245 Index 265