Philosophy through Film

In Philosophy through Film, Amy Karofsky and Mary M. Litch use recently released, well-received films to explore answers to classic questions in philosophy in an approachable yet philosophically rigorous manner. Each chapter incorporates one or more films to examine one longstanding philosophical question or problem and assess some of the best solutions that have been offered to it. The authors fully integrate the films into their discussion of the issues, using them to help students become familiar with key topics in all major areas of Western philosophy and master the techniques of philosophical argumentation.

Revised and expanded, changes to the Fourth Edition include:

A brand new chapter on the mind-body problem (chapter 4), which includes discussions of substance dualism, physicalism, eliminativism, functionalism, and other relevant theories.

The replacement of older movies with nine new focus films: Ad Astra, Arrival, Beautiful Boy, Divergent, Ex Machina, Her, Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow, A Serious Man, and Silence.

The addition of two new primary readings to the appendix of source materials: excerpts from Patricia Smith Churchland’s, "Can Neurobiology Teach Us Anything about Consciousness?" and Frank Jackson’s "What Mary Didn’t Know."

The inclusion of a Website, with a Story Lines of Films by Elapsed Time for each focus film.

The films examined in depth are: Ad Astra, Arrival, Beautiful Boy, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Divergent, Equilibrium, Ex Machina, Gone Baby Gone, Her, Inception, Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow, The Matrix, Memento, Minority Report, Moon, A Serious Man, Silence