Description

Book Synopsis

James Cameron's critically acclaimed movie Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards and received countless accolades for its breath-taking visuals and use of 3D technology. But beyond its cinematic splendour, can Avatar also offer us insights into business ethics, empathy, disability, and the relationship between mind and body? Can getting to know the Na'vi, an alien species, enlarge our vision and help us to see both our world and ourselves in new ways?

Avatar and Philosophy is a revealing journey through the world of Pandora and the huge range of philosophical themes raised by James Cameron's groundbreaking film

  • Explores philosophical issues such as religion, morality, aesthetics, empathy, identity, the relationship of mind and body, environmental and business ethics, technology, and just war theory
  • Examines a wide range of topics from the blockbuster movie, including attitudes toward nature, our responsibilities to nonhu

    Table of Contents

    Acknowledgments: I See These People viii

    Introduction: Time to Wake Up 1
    George A. Dunn

    Part I Seeing Eywa: “I’m With Her, Jake. She’s Real!” 5

    1 The Silence of Our Mother: Eywa as the Voice of Feminine Care Ethics 7
    George A. Dunn and Nicolas Michaud

    2 “Eywa Will Provide”: Pantheism, Christianity, and the Value of Nature 19
    Jason T. Eberl

    3 The Tantra of Avatar 36
    Asra Q. Nomani

    Part II Seeing the Na’vi: “You Will Teach Him Our Ways” 49

    4 Learning to See the Na’vi 51
    Stephanie Adair

    5 It Doesn’t Take an Avatar: How to Empathize with a Blue-Skinned Alien 62
    Andrew Terjesen

    6 “I See You” through a Glass Darkly: Avatar and the Limits of Empathy 74
    Massimiliano Cappuccio

    Part III Seeing Nature: “Try to See the Forest through Her Eyes” 87

    7 Seeing the Na’vi Way: Respecting Life and Mind in All Organisms 89
    Kyle Burchett

    8 They’re Not Just Goddamn Trees: Hegel’s Philosophy of Nature and the Avatar of Spirit 104
    James Lawler

    9 “Everything Is Backwards Now”: Avatar, Anthropocentrism, and Relational Reason 115
    Jeremy David Bendik-Keymer

    Part IV Seeing Our Bodies: “They’ve Got Great Muscle Tone” 125

    10 The Identity of Avatars and Na’vi Wisdom 127
    Kevin S. Decker

    11 “I Got This”: Disability, Stigma, and Jake Sully’s Rejected Body 139
    Ryan Smock

    12 “See the World We Come From”: Spiritual versus Technological Transcendence in Avatar 151
    Dan Dinello

    Part V Seeing Our Political Communities: “Sky People Cannot See” 165

    13 “We Will Fight Terror with Terror”: Avatar and Just War Theory 167
    Joseph J. Foy

    14 The Community and the Individual in Avatar 180
    Dale Murray

    15 Avatar and Colonialism 190
    Nathan Eckstrand

    Part VI Seeing Our Ethical Responsibilities: “Sometimes Your Entire Life Boils Down to One Insane Move” 201

    16 “All That Cheddar”: Lessons in Business Ethics from the RDA Corporation 203
    Matthew Brophy

    17 “We Have an Indigenous Population of Humanoids Called the Na’vi”: Native American Philosophy in Avatar 215
    Dennis Knepp

    18 I See Animals: The Na’vi and Respect for Other Creatures 226
    Wayne Yuen

    Part VII Seeing the Movie: “You Are Not Gonna Believe Where I Am” 239

    19 The Digital Cabinet of Curiosities: Avatar and the Phenomenology of 3D Worlds 241
    Robert Furze and Pat Brereton

    Notes on Contributors: Our Avatar Drivers 252

    Index: My Last Video Log 258

Avatar and Philosophy Learning to See The

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    A Paperback / softback by George A. Dunn, William Irwin

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      View other formats and editions of Avatar and Philosophy Learning to See The by George A. Dunn

      Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
      Publication Date: 05/09/2014
      ISBN13: 9780470940310, 978-0470940310
      ISBN10: 047094031X
      Also in:
      Popular philosophy

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      James Cameron's critically acclaimed movie Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards and received countless accolades for its breath-taking visuals and use of 3D technology. But beyond its cinematic splendour, can Avatar also offer us insights into business ethics, empathy, disability, and the relationship between mind and body? Can getting to know the Na'vi, an alien species, enlarge our vision and help us to see both our world and ourselves in new ways?

      Avatar and Philosophy is a revealing journey through the world of Pandora and the huge range of philosophical themes raised by James Cameron's groundbreaking film

      • Explores philosophical issues such as religion, morality, aesthetics, empathy, identity, the relationship of mind and body, environmental and business ethics, technology, and just war theory
      • Examines a wide range of topics from the blockbuster movie, including attitudes toward nature, our responsibilities to nonhu

        Table of Contents

        Acknowledgments: I See These People viii

        Introduction: Time to Wake Up 1
        George A. Dunn

        Part I Seeing Eywa: “I’m With Her, Jake. She’s Real!” 5

        1 The Silence of Our Mother: Eywa as the Voice of Feminine Care Ethics 7
        George A. Dunn and Nicolas Michaud

        2 “Eywa Will Provide”: Pantheism, Christianity, and the Value of Nature 19
        Jason T. Eberl

        3 The Tantra of Avatar 36
        Asra Q. Nomani

        Part II Seeing the Na’vi: “You Will Teach Him Our Ways” 49

        4 Learning to See the Na’vi 51
        Stephanie Adair

        5 It Doesn’t Take an Avatar: How to Empathize with a Blue-Skinned Alien 62
        Andrew Terjesen

        6 “I See You” through a Glass Darkly: Avatar and the Limits of Empathy 74
        Massimiliano Cappuccio

        Part III Seeing Nature: “Try to See the Forest through Her Eyes” 87

        7 Seeing the Na’vi Way: Respecting Life and Mind in All Organisms 89
        Kyle Burchett

        8 They’re Not Just Goddamn Trees: Hegel’s Philosophy of Nature and the Avatar of Spirit 104
        James Lawler

        9 “Everything Is Backwards Now”: Avatar, Anthropocentrism, and Relational Reason 115
        Jeremy David Bendik-Keymer

        Part IV Seeing Our Bodies: “They’ve Got Great Muscle Tone” 125

        10 The Identity of Avatars and Na’vi Wisdom 127
        Kevin S. Decker

        11 “I Got This”: Disability, Stigma, and Jake Sully’s Rejected Body 139
        Ryan Smock

        12 “See the World We Come From”: Spiritual versus Technological Transcendence in Avatar 151
        Dan Dinello

        Part V Seeing Our Political Communities: “Sky People Cannot See” 165

        13 “We Will Fight Terror with Terror”: Avatar and Just War Theory 167
        Joseph J. Foy

        14 The Community and the Individual in Avatar 180
        Dale Murray

        15 Avatar and Colonialism 190
        Nathan Eckstrand

        Part VI Seeing Our Ethical Responsibilities: “Sometimes Your Entire Life Boils Down to One Insane Move” 201

        16 “All That Cheddar”: Lessons in Business Ethics from the RDA Corporation 203
        Matthew Brophy

        17 “We Have an Indigenous Population of Humanoids Called the Na’vi”: Native American Philosophy in Avatar 215
        Dennis Knepp

        18 I See Animals: The Na’vi and Respect for Other Creatures 226
        Wayne Yuen

        Part VII Seeing the Movie: “You Are Not Gonna Believe Where I Am” 239

        19 The Digital Cabinet of Curiosities: Avatar and the Phenomenology of 3D Worlds 241
        Robert Furze and Pat Brereton

        Notes on Contributors: Our Avatar Drivers 252

        Index: My Last Video Log 258

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