Alien and philosophy : I infest, therefore I am / edited by Jeffrey Ewing and Kevin S. Decker.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ewing, Jeffrey, editor.

Decker, Kevin S., editor.

Series:

Blackwell philosophy and popculture series.

Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture.

THEi Wiley ebooks.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science fiction films--Philosophy.

Science fiction films.

Alien (Motion picture).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (242 pages).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Chichester, [England] : Wiley Blackwell, 2017.

System Details:

Access using campus network via VPN at home (THEi Users Only).

Summary:

Alien and Philosophy: I Infest, Therefore I Am presents a philosophical exploration of the world of Alien, the simultaneously horrifying and thought-provoking sci-fi horror masterpiece, and the film franchise it spawned. * The first book dedicated to exploring the philosophy raised by one of the most successful and influential sci-fi franchises of modern times * Features contributions from an acclaimed team of scholars of philosophy and pop culture, led by highly experienced volume editors * Explores a huge range of topics that include the philosophy of fear, Just Wars, bio-weaponry, feminism and matriarchs, perfect killers, contagion, violation, employee rights and Artificial Intelligence * Includes coverage of H.R. Giger's aesthetics, the literary influences of H.P. Lovecraft, sci-fi and the legacy of Vietnam, and much more!

Contents:

Intro

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Contributors: In Space, No One Can Hear Them Scream

Introduction: A Word of Warning…

Part I Identity and Moral Considerability: "We Made You Because We Could"

Chapter 1 "No Man Needs Nothing": The Possibility of Androids as Lockean Persons in Alien and Prometheus

"Well, I guess that's because I'm a human being, and you're a robot"

"Technological, intellectual, physical…emotional"

"The trick, William Potter, is not minding it hurts"

"I repeat, all other priorities rescinded"

"There is nothing in the desert, and no man needs nothing"

Notes

Chapter 2 Androids: Artificial Persons or Glorified Toasters?

"He was programmed to protect human life"

Autonomy

"Because pain hurts"

Agents and Patients

"It's a robot! A goddamn droid!"

Chapter 3 "All Other Priorities Are Rescinded": The Moral Status of Employees in the Alien Franchise

You Will Get What You Deserve

Employees are Stakeholders

In Space No One Can Hear You Scream

This is Rumor Control. Here are the Facts!

Part II Ethics: "I Don't Know Which Species is Worse"

Chapter 4 Disposable Assets: Weyland-Yutani's Special Brew of Business Ethics

Greedy as a Space Pig

"I work for the Company, but I'm really an OK guy"

Special Order 937-Crew Expendable

Chapter 5 Corporate Greed and Alien/ation: Marx vs. Weyland-Yutani

To Have and to Consume

Work: The Alien Plague

The Real Enemy: Pure Capitalists

The End of History?

Chapter 6 The Public and its Alien Problem

Alien as Political Dystopia

Politics as a Science?

Aliens: Transforming the Social into the Economic

Hope for the Future

Chapter 7 Cross My Heart and Hope to Die: Why Ripley Must Save Newt

"My name's 'Newt'".

"Those two specimens are worth millions to the bioweapons division"

Jaws in Space

"A survivor"

"Standard procedure is to do what the hell they tell you to do"

"Why don't you put her in charge?"

"You don't need me. I'm not a soldier"

"Oh, yeah. Sure. With those things running around?"

"I don't want to hear about it, Bishop. She's alive. There's still time!"

Not Bad, for a [Wo]man

Part III Moral Psychology: "Unclouded by Conscience, Remorse, or Delusions of Mortality"

Chapter 8 Nuking the Colony to Save It: Colonial Marines and Just Wars

When Aliens Stop Being Polite

The Burkian Dialogue

Still Searching for Answers

From Vietnam to Space

Easing Back on the APC's Throttle

Chapter 9 Xenomorphs and the Benefits of Exposure to Violence as Education

Hadley's Hope and Plato's Republic

Newt the Apprentice Guardian

Newt is Hardened Like an Egg

Should Your Child Watch Aliens?

Chapter 10 Alien, Alienation, and Alien Nation

Alien

Alienation

Alien Nation

Part IV Horror: "They Mostly Come at Night"

Chapter 11 Terror from the Stars: Alien as Lovecraftian Horror

How to Frighten People

Keeping it Real as Aliens Attack

Truck Drivers in Space

How to Build an Alien

Darwin's Nightmare

Real Men Cry in Terror (and So Do Real Women)

How to Tell a Horror Story

In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream

In Lovecraft's Taloned Footsteps

Final Transmission

Chapter 12 Art-Horror Environments and the Alien Series

Nostromo Infected

Corrosion

The Brood

The Melding

Chapter 13 Contagion: Impurity, Mental Illness, and Suicide in Alien3

Infection

Madness

Death

Part V Sex and Gender: "None of Them Have Seen a Woman in Years"

Chapter 14 Ellen Ripley: The Rise of the Matriarch

Über Mother.

Of Cat and Girl

That Bitch!

Resurrection

I'm an Alien. And That's OK.

Chapter 15 Is Ellen Ripley a Feminist?

"Have you ever been mistaken for a man?"

"Yes, I read you. The answer is negative"

"Don't you think you're safer here with us?"

"A lot of innocent people will die…"

A Professional, a Mother, and Someone Who Cares

Chapter 16 Alien Violation: Male Bodily Integrity in an Equal Opportunity Rape Culture

Bodies That Matter

Rape Culture

Equal Opportunity Offenders

Part VI Continental Philosophy: "I'm the Monster's Mother"

Chapter 17 The Alien as Übermensch: Overcoming Morality in Order to Become the Perfect Killer

"You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you?"

"You know, Burke, I don't know which species is worse"

"For within each seed, there is a promise of a flower, and within each death…there's always new life"

"You are…a beautiful, beautiful, butterfly"

Chapter 18 "Why Do You Go On Living?": Ripley-8 and the Absurd

Number 8

A Serious Philosophical Problem

I Can Make it All Stop

You're Programmed to Do That?

I Rebel-Therefore We Exist

Little Hunk of Plastic

One Must Imagine Ripley Happy

Chapter 19 God Save the Xenomorph Queen: Defending Xenomorph Self-Defense

Existentialism is an Alienism

A Funny Habit of Shedding His Animality

Stubborn Rejection of their Animal Condition

Its Structural Perfection is Only Matched by its Autonomy

Index

EULA.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781119280859

1119280850

9781119280842

1119280842

9781119280873

1119280877

OCLC:

980347934