Green Lantern and Philosophy: No Evil Shall Escape This Book

[Guest Close Mark D. White]

I'm one of the book's editors...

Hey, folks - I'm one of the editors of Green Lantern and Philosophy: No Evil Shall Escape This Book. I'm looking forward to talking about the book here - I'll also be discussing it soon on my blog The Comics Professor, so you can check there too.

If you want a sneak peak, here's a link to the table of contents. I'd love to hear what you think and to answer any questions you might have.

[GreenLantern888 Alpha-Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close GreenLantern888]

Looks like an interesting book, I'll probably look at it next time I am in the book store.

[Guest Close Mark D. White]

Thanks, GL888 - it's not out til May, but hopefully all major booksellers will have it then.

[myuserid Lantern Hex Find all posts View Profile Close myuserid]

Looks interesting.

[Dr. Naysay Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Dr. Naysay]

I don't like the looks of chapter 6.

[Guest Close Mark D. White]

Understandable, Dr. Naysay; Chapter 6 discusses new concepts of moral responsiblity that question its traditional connection with control. These new--and controversial--understandings of responsiblity may lead some to question whether Hal escapes responsibility for his actions while possessed by Parallax.

For instance, from the introduction to the chapter:

Given Hal’s “unbeatable” strength of will, how and why did he succumb? After all, Hal eventually found the strength within himself to suppress the parasite and save Earth from destruction, so perhaps he could have resisted the parasite earlier. Could it have been because the parasite was pushing Hal to commit acts that he really wanted to commit?

Think about how Hal succumbed to Parallax in the first place, having allowed anger and fear to drive him to extremes after the destruction of Coast City. Couldn't we say that since Hal is responsible for the conditions (the fear and anger, not Coast City) that allowed Parallax to possess him, he may be responsible for what he did under Parallax's control? (Think of a drunk driver's responsibility for an accident even though his control was impaired at the time, because he freely chose to become impaired.)

The chapter certainly made me look at Emerald Twilight a different way!

[Gl Josh Senior Corps Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gl Josh]

Yeah I saw this during a "Hey I have a BN coupon!" search for GL stuff. This looks pretty interesting, plus I have a background in Philosophy. So comics and Philosophy just like peanut butter and jelly or chocolate and bacon.

[Lantern A-train Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Lantern A-train]

mmm chocolate and bacon

[Dr. Naysay Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Dr. Naysay]

Understandable, Dr. Naysay; Chapter 6 discusses new concepts of moral responsiblity that question its traditional connection with control. These new--and controversial--understandings of responsiblity may lead some to question whether Hal escapes responsibility for his actions while possessed by Parallax.

For instance, from the introduction to the chapter:



Think about how Hal succumbed to Parallax in the first place, having allowed anger and fear to drive him to extremes after the destruction of Coast City. Couldn't we say that since Hal is responsible for the conditions (the fear and anger, not Coast City) that allowed Parallax to possess him, he may be responsible for what he did under Parallax's control? (Think of a drunk driver's responsibility for an accident even though his control was impaired at the time, because he freely chose to become impaired.)

The chapter certainly made me look at Emerald Twilight a different way!

I think you're leaving out the influence that shitty comic book writing can have on a characters moral culpability.

I'll be purchasing a copy of the book and I can't wait to read it.

[Guest Close Mark D. White]

I hear ya, Doc - and thanks!

[Dr. Naysay Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Dr. Naysay]

I hear ya, Doc - and thanks!

I was poking around your blog but I couldn't find a "About the author" section...

so... um like... you know....

How did the book come to be? Who's idea was it? How were the authors chosen? How much feedback came from DC (if any)?

I have a million more questions but I'll leave it at that for now...

[Guest Close Mark D. White]

Briefly, the book was the idea of my co-editor Jane Dryden and myself, who each suggested the topic of Green Lantern to the editor of the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, Bill Irwin. The contributors were then selected through an open call for abstracts, like the newer ones on the series website here, which is posted to many philosophy listservs around the world. (And DC has nothing to do with it, unfortunately, though they've had no problem with any of the books we've done.)

I'm beat - will chat more tomorrow!

[Guest Close Shingo Wol]

Understandable, Dr. Naysay; Chapter 6 discusses new concepts of moral responsiblity that question its traditional connection with control. These new--and controversial--understandings of responsiblity may lead some to question whether Hal escapes responsibility for his actions while possessed by Parallax.

For instance, from the introduction to the chapter:



Think about how Hal succumbed to Parallax in the first place, having allowed anger and fear to drive him to extremes after the destruction of Coast City. Couldn't we say that since Hal is responsible for the conditions (the fear and anger, not Coast City) that allowed Parallax to possess him, he may be responsible for what he did under Parallax's control? (Think of a drunk driver's responsibility for an accident even though his control was impaired at the time, because he freely chose to become impaired.)

The chapter certainly made me look at Emerald Twilight a different way!

Proof that Kyle is better then Hal .

[missferris Senior Corps Member Find all posts View Profile Close missferris]

Oh my god how is there a whole chapter on Soranik Natu? Must be sleep material.

Not much could make me want to get a book on philosophy and green lantern...like. At all.

However, you say you guys explore male/female stereotypes? Do you do so in the chapter on "love", too? And what exactly do you cover in it? All four earth lanterns and their love lives? Are you going to cover their "main" beaus, or the other encounters such as Hal-Arisia, Guy/Kari Limbo/Hal, Kyle's girlfriends before Soranik, John/Fatality, whatever whatever.

And do you cover the stereotypes on love that the Star Sapphires reinforce, and the narrow heterosexist "soulmate" crap narrative they paint on love? How the women are used as a tool for the man's narrative, and often thrown out in bullshit ways/killed off/gotten rid of/made to victimize the man somehow so the audience can be glad to get rid of her? How Kyle's love life has always been a tool to elevate him and how they strategically make him sleep with whoever will get him closer to legitimacy? How Hal's love life, outside of carol, has been delegitimized, ignored, retconned, or not even given a chance because of essentialist deterministic crap about him and Carol being twu wuvs? What about Guy and his current "let's ignore his relationship with tora/force an awkward breakup because they are in separate books"

Does the book acknowledge, in its philosophy, the influence of marketing and editorial command?

I'm thinking of making this purchase! I just don't want there to be some anti-Hal or anti-This or that bias in its coverage, and I'm already cringing at the thought of a book like this giving attention to any of the girl characters in the franchise, who have all been not treated nearly as well as the men in terms of development, spotlight, and showcasing multifaceted emotions and motivations.

[Guest Close Mark D. White]

Thanks for your questions, MissFerris: the chapter "Women Are from Zamaron, Men Are from Oa" chiefly discusses the supposed (but erroneous) opposition between reason and emotion, relating it their traditional linkages to men and women (respectively), and how these intertwined dichotomies are outdated and incorrect. As the chapter begins:

The creators and overseers of the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians of the Universe, long ago chose to shun emotions and live according to reason alone. Using the Green Lantern Corps to enforce order and fight evil in the universe, they believe that emotion is the root of disorder and evil. By contrast, the Zamarons, originally members of the same race as the Guardians, argue that it is a mistake to stress reason to the neglect of emotion. In this chapter we will use the conflict between the Guardians—until recently, exclusively male—and the Zamarons—all female—as a way to study the classic philosophical argument that reason is superior to emotion, as well as the traditional association of reason with men and emotion with women.

As for the chapter on love, I assume you mean "Can’t Live with ’Em, Can’t Live without ’Em: Green Lantern, Relationships, and Autonomy." This chapter is not about love specifically but relationships more generally, and how they affect personal autonomy. Speaking about the various Lanterns, the chapter asks

do their relationships to one another and to others outside the Corps help or hinder their service as Green Lanterns? Do they represent weaknesses to be exploited or sources of strength? Fortunately, these sorts of questions have been raised by philosophers working in the field of personal autonomy, so let’s turn to that discussion to see if it can help us out.

The chapter discusses many examples of relationships, including Soranik and her daddy Sinestro, Kyle and Alex (and mentioning the "women in refrigerators" phenomenon), the destruction of Kilowog's homeworld (and all of his relationships there), Donna Parker's passing up the chance to be a Green Lantern to be with her children, the law passed (and then rescinded) by the Guardians prohibiting relationships between Lanterns (also discussed in the Zamaron/Oa chapter), not to mention Guy and Tora, Sodom and his fellow Daxamites, Kyle and his mother, and more.

I hope I eased your concerns a bit, and thanks again for the interest!