Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 22, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
At least the television series gives twelve philosophers from the most recognised US universities occasion to reflect in eleven essays on «The Simpsons and Philosophy». And in doing so they come – to give this away in advance – to the conclusion: Homer (Simpson, not the famous Greek of antiquity) is, if one laughs anyway!
There is something touching when high-ranking academics deal, for example, with a fool like Homer Simpson and seriously consider whether, despite all his negative qualities, he also unites Aristotelian virtues within himself. Yes and no, is the clear answer. They further come to the conclusion that baby Maggie – although mute and rarely more than a statistical accessory – is important to the series. And with the person of the clever Lisa, intelligence is positioned in the USA – although in society (in the Simpsons’ home of Springfield as in the whole country) it is assigned a rather low status.
The authors further find that the snotty Simpson offspring Bart – similarly dim-witted as his progenitor – has a right to exist in the philosophical sense, namely for the question: Is he developing into the overman according to Friedrich Nietzsche, or is he simply an evil child, as according to series creator and former philosophy student Matt Groening there are some, at least in Springfield, that average American small town which, with its strange population, has itself become the object of study of the series- enthusiastic experts.
Yes, and then there is then Marge, the clever, practical and nice Mrs Simpson. Anyone who thinks Marge comes off best with the authors is mistaken. She too is analysed mercilessly. And criticised. Because her inability to criticise – even when the welfare of her children is at stake – often does not make her look good at all. Nevertheless, the academics generally concede intelligence to the female members of the Simpson clan, but above all limitedness to the male ones, paired with instinct and – at least in Homer’s case – a proper portion of lust for life.
Of course, the other «supporting» protagonists of the Simpsons also get their share – from the bigoted Ned Flanders to the nasty Mr Burns, the embodiment of the arch-capitalist. All persons are subjected to the authors’ ideological considerations and stand metaphorically for a social order and its members. The book is a delightful collection of profound thoughts about absurd persons and odd scenarios. And has come onto the market at just the right time to acquire the intellectual background for the current cinema film «The Simpsons».
The Book;
William Irwin, Mark T. Conard, Aeon J. Skoble
The Simpsons and Philosophy
Tropen Verlag, Berlin
255 pp., Euro 19.80
ISBN 978-3-9321-7097-3
