BioShock and Philosophy

Considered a sign of the ‘coming of age’ of video games as an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise covers vast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book presents expert reflections by philosophers (and Bioshock connoisseurs) on this critically acclaimed and immersive fan-favorite. Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artistic complexity, compelling characters and absorbing plots of this ground-breaking first-person shooter (FPS) Explores what BioShock teaches the gamer about gaming, and the aesthetics of video game storytelling Addresses a wide array of topics including Marxism, propaganda, human enhancement technologies, political decision-making, free will, morality, feminism, transworld individuality, and vending machines in the dystopian society of Rapture Considers visionary game developer Ken Levine’s depiction of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, as well as the theories of Aristotle, de Beauvoir, Dewey, Leibniz, Marx, Plato, and others from the Hall of Philosophical Heroes

Hacking into This Book (Introduction) vii Luke Cuddy Part I Level 1 Research Bonus: Increased Wisdom Capacity 1 1 BioShock’s Meta‐Narrative: What BioShock Teaches the Gamer about Gaming 3 Collin Pointon 2 The Value of Art in BioShock: Ayn Rand, Emotion, and Choice 15 Jason Rose 3 SHODAN vs. the Many: Or, Mind vs. the Body 27 Robert M. Mentyka 4 “The cage is somber”: A Feminist Understanding of Elizabeth 38 Catlyn Origitano Part II Tears, Time, and Reality 49 5 Rapture in a Physical World: Did Andrew Ryan Choose the Impossible? 51 James Cook 6 Would You Kindly Bring Us the Girl and Wipe Away the Debt: Free Will and Moral Responsibility in BioShock Infinite 58 Oliver Laas 7 BioShock as Plato’s Cave 69 Roger Travis 8 BioShock Infinite and Transworld Individuality: Identity across Space and Time 76 Charles Joshua Horn 9 Shockingly Limited: Escaping Columbia’s God of Necessity 86 Scott Squires and James McBain Part III The “Union” and the Sodom Below 95 10 “The bindings are there as a safeguard”: Sovereignty and Political Decisions in BioShock Infinite 97 Rick Elmore 11 Propaganda, Lies, and Bullshit in BioShock’s Rapture 107 Rachel McKinnon 12 The Vox Populi Group, Marx, and Equal Rights for All 114 Tyler DeHaven and Chris Hendrickson Part IV The Circus of Values 127 13 Infinite Lighthouses, Infinite Stories: BioShock and the Aesthetics of Video Game Storytelling 129 László Kajtár 14 Have You Ever Been to Rapture?: BioShock as an Introduction to Phenomenology 139 Stefan Schevelier 15 “Evolve today!”: Human Enhancement Technologies in the BioShock Universe 150 Simon Ledder 16 Vending Machine Values: Buying Beauty and Morality in BioShock 161 Michael J. Muniz Notes on Contributors 168 Index 173