Carus Books Bücher

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation is a landmark science-fiction series that has profoundly influenced the genre and fields like sociology, statistics, and psychology. Spanning from the 1940s to the 1980s, the series has inspired a successful Apple TV adaptation, with a second season currently filming in Prague. Set 45,000 years in the future, the narrative unfolds over centuries as an expansive interstellar human empire unwittingly approaches total collapse. The brilliant scientist Hari Seldon employs an advanced mathematical method known as psycho-history to foresee this downfall and establishes a "foundation" aimed at reviving human civilization generations later. Asimov’s Foundation and Philosophy features twenty-four chapters by various philosophers examining the complex philosophical questions raised by the series. Discussions include the impact of individual actions on history, the ethics of manipulating populations for a perceived greater good, the concept of non-action, the role of education in shaping future generations, and the predictability of human affairs. Other topics explore the tension between free will and future planning, the futility of empire-building, the ethics of human cloning, and the application of logic in understanding human behavior. Joshua Heter, a philosophy instructor, and Josef Thomas Simpson, an academic coach and lecturer, co-edit this thought-provoking collection.

The Godfather and Philosophy is comprised of twenty-eight chapters by philosophers, who reflect upon the ethical and metaphysical issues raised in The Godfather novels and movies, beginning with the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo and the 1972 movie by Francis Ford Coppola. The Godfather saga has had a profound impact on American cinema, storytelling, thinking about crime, and popular culture. Aimed at thoughtful fans of The Godfather franchise, among the questions tackled in these provocative philosophical chapters are the immigrant experience in America, the relation between ethics and the law, the nature of moral corruption, private justice and vigilantism, organized crime and the American Dream, betrayal and forgiveness, religion and family values, the difficulties of breaking out of a dysfunctional way of life, and the uncertain consequences of vice laws. Joshua Heter teaches philosophy at Jefferson College, Missouri. He co-edited Punk Rock and Philosophy (2022). Richard Greene teaches philosophy at Weber State University, Utah. He wrote the definitive and highly acclaimed book, Spoiler Alert! (It's a Book about the Philosophy of Spoilers) (2019).