I tweeted a while back saying how excited I was for this book, so I was thrilled this week when I came in to work to find an advanced copy of Dan Shaw's Morality and the Movies sitting on my desk.
This fantastic new book presents the ideal introduction to philosophical ethics for film lovers. Dan Shaw uses a series of sixteen popular films to illustrate all the major ethical theories and key contemporary moral issues. The book provides a brief summary and philosophical interpretation of each film, with reference throughout to primary philosophical sources. A unique pedagogical feature is that each chapter begins with a five-step summary of the theoretical position in question and a critical evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses through a specific film.
Topics covered include:
- divine authority
- the social contract
- moral relativism
- virtue ethics
- freedom and determinism
- euthanasia
- capital punishment
- war and terrorism
- abortion
- business ethics
Ideal for undergraduate students coming to philosophical ethics for the first time, this book utilises popular film to introduce a central topic in the study of philosophy.
If that's not enough to get you excited, take a look at some of the films covered:
Some absolute classics there!
There's also tips after each chapter for further films on the topic covered, for example in the chapter 'The Ethics of Business in Wall Street', Shaw also recommends Blue Collar, The Social Network and, of course, the sequel to the main film covered, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. (Personally though, I wouldn't recommend the last one. It's pretty terrible. Even Shia LaBeouf's face can't save it.) These handy extra features really do make Morality and the Movies an accessible and truly invaluable tool for students.
You don't have to just trust me though, Thomas Wartenberg from Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts had this to say:
"Shaw makes morality go down as easily as a bag of popcorn.No more will philosophy be dull.I can only wish that I had had a text like Morality and the Movies when I was a student just encountering ethics.This book is certain to engage students, as they discover they were already thinking about morality when they were watching movies."
So, be sure to take a look at the exclusive preview above and send for your
inspection copy today. What other films do you think would fit with ethical analysis? Tweet me your ideas to
@ContinuumPhilos or comment here, I'd love to hear them!
Finally, and because I just can't let it go unmentioned, how cool is the cover?! I love it - one of my favourites of the year so far. Definitely one to show off at the Film-Philosophy conference in September!
Charlotte Hoare
Marketing Executive UK and Rest of World
