Pop Culture & Philosophy Writing
In addition to my primary research, I'm interested in the connections between popular culture and philosophy, especially as a way to introduce philosophy to students and non-philosophers.
Some of the essays below were written as philosophical research, like "Gospel, Gossip, and Ghent" and "Just How Many Lukes Are There in A New Hope, Anyway?", while others were written as pedagogical tools, like "There is No Truth in Ba Sing Se: Bald-Faced Lies and the Nature of Lying" and "Golden Lassos and Logical Paradoxes".
Some of the essays below were written as philosophical research, like "Gospel, Gossip, and Ghent" and "Just How Many Lukes Are There in A New Hope, Anyway?", while others were written as pedagogical tools, like "There is No Truth in Ba Sing Se: Bald-Faced Lies and the Nature of Lying" and "Golden Lassos and Logical Paradoxes".
Popular Culture & Philosophy Publications
"Just How Many Lukes Are There In a New Hope, Anyway?" (with Roy T. Cook)
in Star Wars and Philosophy Strikes Back: This is the Way, eds. Eberl & Decker, Wiley-Blackwell, 2022
Few Star Wars characters are more beloved than Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight, son of Darth Vader, and mentor to Rey. Fictional characters like Luke are wholly defined by how people understand, interpret, and evaluate their depictions within the fictions in which they appear. This chapter explores various ways to provide identity conditions for fictional characters. It examines a more sophisticated, but again ultimately incorrect, account of fictional character identity: the Say-So Account , in which authors determine whether two characters, from two fictional works, are identical. The Perspectival Account avoids the problems seen in the earlier accounts and provides the authors with an adequate account of identity conditions for fictional characters. Further, the Perspectival Account allows the authors to explain how the truth-value of fictional character identity claims can change over time.
"There Is No Truth in Ba Sing Se: Bald-Faced Lies and the Nature of Lying"
in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Philosophy: Wisdom from Aang to Zuko, eds. De Cruz & De Smedt, Wiley-Blackwell, 2022
This chapter examines the nature of deception and lying by attempting to find an understanding of lying which can make sense of the Earth Kingdom citizens' behavior. It deals with analyzing the concepts of deception and lying, and briefly discusses what makes them such a dangerous and problematic phenomenon. Bald-faced lies are lies where the liar has no intention of deceiving their audience. Sorensen introduces the idea of bald-faced lies by giving examples of various statements which citizens of oppressive and totalitarian states are forced to make. Bald-faced lies are the norm within totalitarian states. These lies undermine the trust which serves as the foundation of the communities, and thus split them further apart. In addition, the more falsehoods there are, the harder it becomes to recognize and believe the truth. In communities in which lying is expected, the truth fails to have meaning.
[This essay can be used in introductory courses as an introduction to various definitions of lying, as well as the use of counterexamples in analyzing definitions. It pairs well with showing a variety of different clips from the series in class, and I am happy to send along the relevant episodes and time codes to anyone who asks.]
"Golden Lassos and Logical Paradoxes" (with Roy T. Cook)
in Wonder Woman and Philosophy: The Amazonian Mystique, ed. Held, Wiley-Blackwell, 2017
Wonder Woman wields a number of magical Amazonian devices: her bulletproof bracelets, her invisible plane, and most importantly for this chapter, her golden lasso of truth. The first thing to notice about the golden lasso is that evildoers bound by it are not only compelled to tell the truth if and when they answer questions, but also compelled to answer Wonder Woman's questions in the first place. The second thing to notice is that answering truthfully does not, in this context, necessarily mean uttering a true sentence. Rather, if a person is tied up with the golden lasso, then they are compelled to answer questions with what they believe is the truth. The chapter shows the examples that contemplating Wonder Woman's golden lasso, and Bizarra's golden lasso, can provide us with a wealth of interesting and entertaining paradoxes and puzzles.
[This essay can be used in introductory courses as an introduction to logical paradoxes, including the Liar Paradox. It requires no previous logical or formal experience.]
"The Doctor is a (Wo)Man!"
in More Doctor Who and Philosophy: Regeneration Time, eds. Lewis & Smithka, Open Court, 2015
This chapter examines the philosophical and canonical support for and against the possibility of a Time Lord’s regeneration into another gender. As is well known there are interesting philosophical lessons that can be learned from the concept of regeneration in Doctor Who; this paper takes those lessons to a new frontier by combining it with lessons from work on the philosophy of gender. Using work from Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler, I argue that our best philosophical theories of gender can help us realize how The Doctor could (and later would, after the publication of this volume) become a woman.
"Gospel, Gossip, and Ghent: How Should We Understand the new Star Wars?" (with Roy T. Cook)
in The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy: You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned, eds. Eberl & Decker, Wiley-Blackwell, 2015
This chapter opens with a discussion on the mechanics of canon in the Star Wars universe. The practice of dividing a fiction into canonical and noncanonical parts is not merely an exercise in fanboy/girl esoterica. Once a fiction is massive enough, and the Star Wars fiction is certainly quite massive, the canon/noncanon divide can play a practical role in pointing to which portions of the story are required knowledge for understanding and interpreting the overall universe. Canon/noncanon distinctions make massive fictions like Star Wars accessible. A particular work will not be eternally canonical or eternally noncanonical. The canon/noncanon divide does not merely tell us that some stories count as genuine parts of the Star Wars fiction while others do not. It also dictates which version of a particular story counts as genuine when there are multiple versions from which to choose.
in Star Wars and Philosophy Strikes Back: This is the Way, eds. Eberl & Decker, Wiley-Blackwell, 2022
Few Star Wars characters are more beloved than Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight, son of Darth Vader, and mentor to Rey. Fictional characters like Luke are wholly defined by how people understand, interpret, and evaluate their depictions within the fictions in which they appear. This chapter explores various ways to provide identity conditions for fictional characters. It examines a more sophisticated, but again ultimately incorrect, account of fictional character identity: the Say-So Account , in which authors determine whether two characters, from two fictional works, are identical. The Perspectival Account avoids the problems seen in the earlier accounts and provides the authors with an adequate account of identity conditions for fictional characters. Further, the Perspectival Account allows the authors to explain how the truth-value of fictional character identity claims can change over time.
"There Is No Truth in Ba Sing Se: Bald-Faced Lies and the Nature of Lying"
in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Philosophy: Wisdom from Aang to Zuko, eds. De Cruz & De Smedt, Wiley-Blackwell, 2022
This chapter examines the nature of deception and lying by attempting to find an understanding of lying which can make sense of the Earth Kingdom citizens' behavior. It deals with analyzing the concepts of deception and lying, and briefly discusses what makes them such a dangerous and problematic phenomenon. Bald-faced lies are lies where the liar has no intention of deceiving their audience. Sorensen introduces the idea of bald-faced lies by giving examples of various statements which citizens of oppressive and totalitarian states are forced to make. Bald-faced lies are the norm within totalitarian states. These lies undermine the trust which serves as the foundation of the communities, and thus split them further apart. In addition, the more falsehoods there are, the harder it becomes to recognize and believe the truth. In communities in which lying is expected, the truth fails to have meaning.
[This essay can be used in introductory courses as an introduction to various definitions of lying, as well as the use of counterexamples in analyzing definitions. It pairs well with showing a variety of different clips from the series in class, and I am happy to send along the relevant episodes and time codes to anyone who asks.]
"Golden Lassos and Logical Paradoxes" (with Roy T. Cook)
in Wonder Woman and Philosophy: The Amazonian Mystique, ed. Held, Wiley-Blackwell, 2017
Wonder Woman wields a number of magical Amazonian devices: her bulletproof bracelets, her invisible plane, and most importantly for this chapter, her golden lasso of truth. The first thing to notice about the golden lasso is that evildoers bound by it are not only compelled to tell the truth if and when they answer questions, but also compelled to answer Wonder Woman's questions in the first place. The second thing to notice is that answering truthfully does not, in this context, necessarily mean uttering a true sentence. Rather, if a person is tied up with the golden lasso, then they are compelled to answer questions with what they believe is the truth. The chapter shows the examples that contemplating Wonder Woman's golden lasso, and Bizarra's golden lasso, can provide us with a wealth of interesting and entertaining paradoxes and puzzles.
[This essay can be used in introductory courses as an introduction to logical paradoxes, including the Liar Paradox. It requires no previous logical or formal experience.]
"The Doctor is a (Wo)Man!"
in More Doctor Who and Philosophy: Regeneration Time, eds. Lewis & Smithka, Open Court, 2015
This chapter examines the philosophical and canonical support for and against the possibility of a Time Lord’s regeneration into another gender. As is well known there are interesting philosophical lessons that can be learned from the concept of regeneration in Doctor Who; this paper takes those lessons to a new frontier by combining it with lessons from work on the philosophy of gender. Using work from Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler, I argue that our best philosophical theories of gender can help us realize how The Doctor could (and later would, after the publication of this volume) become a woman.
"Gospel, Gossip, and Ghent: How Should We Understand the new Star Wars?" (with Roy T. Cook)
in The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy: You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned, eds. Eberl & Decker, Wiley-Blackwell, 2015
This chapter opens with a discussion on the mechanics of canon in the Star Wars universe. The practice of dividing a fiction into canonical and noncanonical parts is not merely an exercise in fanboy/girl esoterica. Once a fiction is massive enough, and the Star Wars fiction is certainly quite massive, the canon/noncanon divide can play a practical role in pointing to which portions of the story are required knowledge for understanding and interpreting the overall universe. Canon/noncanon distinctions make massive fictions like Star Wars accessible. A particular work will not be eternally canonical or eternally noncanonical. The canon/noncanon divide does not merely tell us that some stories count as genuine parts of the Star Wars fiction while others do not. It also dictates which version of a particular story counts as genuine when there are multiple versions from which to choose.