Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy

PHILOSOPHY/POP CULTURE The contributors to Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy strive to make things relevant to fans of the show, and they put their information out in a way that is accessible to folks who wouldn't know Heidegger from Heineken. Green Man Review, Spring 2009 "e;The writers are well versed in their subjects The book is most effective at making the reader rethink what they thought they knew."e; Neo-opsis What s the point of living after your world has been destroyed? This is one of many questions raised by the Sci-Fi Channel s critically acclaimed series Battlestar Galactica. More than just an action-packed space opera, each episode offers a dramatic character study of the human survivors and their Cylon pursuers as they confront existential, moral, metaphysical, theological, and political crises. This volume addresses some of the key questions to which the Colonials won t find easy answers, even when they reach Earth: Are Cylons persons? Is Baltar s scientific worldview superior to Six s religious faith? Can Starbuck be free if she has a special destiny? Is it ethical to cut one s losses and leave people behind? Is collaboration with the enemy ever the right move? Is humanity a flawed creation? Should we share the Cylon goal of transhumanism? Is it really a big deal that Starbuck s a woman?

PHILOSOPHY/POP CULTURE"The contributors to Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy strive to make things relevant to fans of the show, and they put their information out in a way that is accessible to folks who wouldn't know Heidegger from Heineken."Green Man Review, Spring 2009"The writers are well versed in their subjects...The book is most effective at making the reader rethink what they thought they knew."Neo-opsisWhat's the point of living after your world has been destroyed? This is one of many questions raised by the Sci-Fi Channel's critically acclaimed series Battlestar Galactica. More than just an action-packed "space opera," each episode offers a dramatic character study of the human survivors and their Cylon pursuers as they confront existential, moral, metaphysical, theological, and political crises.This volume addresses some of the key questions to which the Colonials won't find easy answers, even when they reach Earth: Are Cylons persons? Is Baltar's scientific worldview superior to Six's religious faith? Can Starbuck be free if she has a special destiny? Is it ethical to cut one's losses and leave people behind? Is collaboration with the enemy ever the right move? Is humanity a "flawed creation?" Should we share the Cylon goal of "transhumanism?" Is it really a big deal that Starbuck's a woman?

Giving Thanks to the Lords of Kobol."There Are Those Who Believe ...".Part I Opening the Ancient Scrolls: Classic Philosophers asColonial Prophets.Erik D. Baldwin, How to be Happy After the End of the World.Robert Sharp, When Machines Get Souls: Nietzsche on the CylonUprising.J. Robert Loftis, "What a Strange Little Man":Baltar the Tyrant?.Jason P. Blahuta, The Politics of Crisis: Machiavelli in theColonial Fleet.Part II I, Cylon: Are Toasters People, Too?.Robert Arp and Tracie Mahaffey, "And They Have aPlan": Cylons as Persons.Amy Kind, "I'm Sharon, but I'm a DifferentSharon": The Identity of Cylons.Jerold J. Abrams, Embracing the "Children ofHumanity": How to Prevent the Next Cylon War.Brian Willems, When the Non-Human Knows Its Own Death.Part III Worthy of Survival: Moral Issues for Colonials andCylons.Randall M. Jensen, The Search for Starbuck: The Needs of theMany vs. the Few.Andrew Terjesen, Resistance vs. Collaboration on New Caprica:What Would You Do?.George A. Dunn, Being Boomer: Identity, Alienation, andEvil.David Roden, Cylons in the Original Position: Limits ofPosthuman Justice.Part IV The Arrow, the Eye, and Earth: The Search for a(Divine?) Home.Jason T. Eberl and Jennifer A. Vines, "I Am an Instrumentof God": Religious Belief, Atheism, and Meaning.Taneli Kukkonen, God Against the Gods: Faith and the Exodus ofthe Twelve Colonies.David Kyle Johnson, "A Story That Is Told Again, andAgain, and Again": Recurrence, Providence, and Freedom.Eric J. Silverman, Adama's True Lie: Earth and the Problemof Knowledge.Part V Sagittarons, Capricans, and Gemenese: DifferentWorlds, Different Perspectives.James McRae, Zen and the Art of Cylon Maintenance.Elizabeth F. Cooke, "Let It Be Earth": The PragmaticVirtue of Hope.Sarah Conly, Is Starbuck a Woman?.David Koepsell, Gaius Baltar and the Transhuman Temptation.There Are Only Twenty-Two Cylon Contributors.The Fleet's Manifest