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

Considered a sign of the 'coming of age' of video gamesas an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise coversvast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: IrrationalGame, Rational Book presents expert reflections byphilosophers (and Bioshock connoisseurs) on this criticallyacclaimed and immersive fan-favorite.* Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artisticcomplexity, compelling characters and absorbing plots of thisground-breaking first-person shooter (FPS)* Explores what BioShock teaches the gamer about gamingand the aesthetics of video game storytelling* Addresses a wide array of topics including Marxism, propagandahuman enhancement technologies, political decision-making, freewill, morality, feminism, transworld individuality, and vendingmachines in the dystopian society of Rapture* Considers visionary game developer Ken Levine's depictionof Ayn Rand's philosophy, as well as the theories ofAristotle, de Beauvoir, Dewey, Leibniz, Marx, Plato, and othersfrom the Hall of Philosophical Heroes

Hacking into This Book (Introduction) viiLuke CuddyPart I Level 1 Research Bonus: Increased Wisdom Capacity 11 BioShock's Meta-Narrative: What BioShock Teaches the Gamer about Gaming 3Collin Pointon2 The Value of Art in BioShock: Ayn Rand, Emotion, and Choice 15Jason Rose3 SHODAN vs. the Many: Or, Mind vs. the Body 27Robert M. Mentyka4 "The cage is somber": A Feminist Understanding of Elizabeth 38Catlyn OrigitanoPart II Tears, Time, and Reality 495 Rapture in a Physical World: Did Andrew Ryan Choose the Impossible? 51James Cook6 Would You Kindly Bring Us the Girl and Wipe Away the Debt: Free Will and Moral Responsibility in BioShock Infinite 58Oliver Laas7 BioShock as Plato's Cave 69Roger Travis8 BioShock Infinite and Transworld Individuality: Identity across Space and Time 76Charles Joshua Horn9 Shockingly Limited: Escaping Columbia's God of Necessity 86Scott Squires and James McBainPart III The "Union" and the Sodom Below 9510 "The bindings are there as a safeguard": Sovereignty and Political Decisions in BioShock Infinite 97Rick Elmore11 Propaganda, Lies, and Bullshit in BioShock's Rapture 107Rachel McKinnon12 The Vox Populi Group, Marx, and Equal Rights for All 114Tyler DeHaven and Chris HendricksonPart IV The Circus of Values 12713 Infinite Lighthouses, Infinite Stories: BioShock and the Aesthetics of Video Game Storytelling 129László Kajtár14 Have You Ever Been to Rapture?: BioShock as an Introduction to Phenomenology 139Stefan Schevelier15 "Evolve today!": Human Enhancement Technologies in the BioShock Universe 150Simon Ledder16 Vending Machine Values: Buying Beauty and Morality in BioShock 161Michael J. MunizNotes on Contributors 168Index 173