Twilight and Philosophy

twilight and Philosophy What can vampires tell us about the meaning of life? Is Edward a romantic hero or a dangerous stalker? Is Bella a feminist? Is Stephenie Meyer? How does Stephenie Meyer’s Mormonism fit into the fantastical world of Twilight? Is Jacob “better” for Bella than Edward? The answers to these philosophical questions and more can be found inside Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality. With everything from Taoism to mind reading to the place of God in a world of vampires, this book offers some very tasty philosophy for both the living and the undead to sink their teeth into. Whether you’re on Team Edward or Team Jacob, whether you loved or hated Breaking Dawn, this book is for you! To learn more about the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, visit www.andphilosophy.com

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Supernatural Humans We Can’t Live Without xi Introduction: Undead Wisdom 1 PART ONE TWILIGHT 1 You Look Good Enough to Eat: Love, Madness, and the Food Analogy 7 George A. Dunn 2 Dying to Eat: The Vegetarian Ethics of Twilight 25 Jean Kazez 3 Can a Vampire Be a Person? 39 Nicolas Michaud 4 Carlisle: More Compassionate Than a Speeding Bullet? 49 Andrew Terjesen and Jenny Terjesen PART TWO NEW MOON 5 Vampire-Dämmerung: What Can Twilight Tell Us about God? 63 Peter S. Fosl and Eli Fosl 6 To Bite or Not to Bite: Twilight, Immortality, and the Meaning of Life 79 Brendan Shea 7 Mind Reading and Morality: The Moral Hazards of Being Edward 93 Eric Silverman 8 Love and Authority among Wolves 107 Sara Worley PART THREE ECLIPSE 9 Bella Swan and Sarah Palin: All the Old Myths Are Not True 121 Naomi Zack 10 Vampire Love: The Second Sex Negotiates the Twenty-first Century 131 Bonnie Mann 11 Edward Cullen and Bella Swan: Byronic and Feminist Heroes . . . or Not 147 Abigail E. Myers 12 Undead Patriarchy and the Possibility of Love 163 Leah McClimans and J. Jeremy Wisnewski 13 The “Real” Danger: Fact vs. Fiction for the Girl Audience 177 Rebecca Housel PART FOUR BREAKING DAWN 14 Twilight of an Idol: Our Fatal Attraction to Vampires 193 Jennifer L. McMahon 15 Bella’s Vampire Semiotics 209 Dennis Knepp 16 Space, Time, and Vampire Ontology 219 Philip Puszczalowski 17 For the Strength of Bella? Meyer, Vampires, and Mormonism 227 Marc E. Shaw 18 The Tao of Jacob 237 Rebecca Housel CONTRIBUTORS: Ladies and Gentlemen, Introducing the Stars of Our Show, Humans, Vampires, and Shape-Shifters Alike 247 INDEX: For Those Who Can’t Read Minds 253