Description

Book Synopsis
A philosophical look at the movie Inception and its brilliant metaphysical puzzles

Is the top still spinning? Was it all a dream? In the world of Christopher Nolan''s four-time Academy Award-winning movie, people can share one another''s dreams and alter their beliefs and thoughts. Inception is a metaphysical heist film that raises more questions than it answers: Can we know what is real? Can you be held morally responsible for what you do in dreams? What is the nature of dreams, and what do they tell us about the boundaries of self and other? From Plato to Aristotle and from Descartes to Hume, Inception and Philosophy draws from important philosophical minds to shed new light on the movie''s captivating themes, including the one that everyone talks about: did the top fall down (and does it even matter)?

  • Explores the movie''s key questions and themes, including how we can tell if we''re dreaming or awake, how to make sense of a paradox, and

    Table of Contents
    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The Dream Team xi

    The Editor’s Totem: An Elegant Solution for Keeping Track of Reality 1

    Introduction: Plato’s Academy Award 11

    PART ONE WAS MAL RIGHT? WAS IT ALL JUST A DREAM?: MAKING SENSE OF INCEPTION

    1 Was It All a Dream?: Why Nolan’s Answer Doesn’t Matter 17
    Ruth Tallman

    2 Let Me Put My Thoughts in You: It Was All Just a Dream 31
    Jason Southworth

    3 Even If It Is a Dream, We Should Still Care 46
    Andrew Terjesen

    4 The Unavoidable Dream Problem 62
    James T. M. Miller

    PART TWO IS THE TOP STILL SPINNING?: TACKLING THE UNANSWERABLE QUESTION

    5 The Parable of the Spinning Top: Skepticism, Angst, and Cobb’s Choice 77
    Katherine Tullmann

    6 Reality Doesn’t Really Matter 92
    Dan Weijers

    7 Why Care whether the Top Keeps Spinning? 108
    Bart Engelen

    PART THREE IS INCEPTION POSSIBLE?: THE METAPHYSICS, ETHICS, AND MECHANICS OF INCEPTING

    8 How to Hijack a Mind: Inception and the Ethics of Heist Films 125
    Daniel P. Malloy

    9 Inception, Teaching, and Hypnosis: The Ethics of Idea-Giving 140
    Adam Barkman

    10 Inception and Free Will: Are They Compatible? 152
    John R. Fitzpatrick and David Kyle Johnson

    11 Honor and Redemption in Corporate Espionage 166
    Albert J. Chan

    PART FOUR WHAT IS DREAMING?: EXPLORING THE NATURE OF (SHARED) DREAMS (UPON DREAMS)

    12 Shared Dreaming and Extended Minds 177
    Ken Marable

    13 Morally Responsible Dreaming: Your Mind Is the Scene of the Crime 187
    Lance Belluomini

    14 Dream Time: Inception and the Philosophy of Time 199
    Michael J. Sigrist

    15 Dreams and Possible Worlds: Inception and the Metaphysics of Modality 215
    Charles Joshua Horn

    16 Do Our Dreams Occur While We Sleep? 231
    Keith Dromm

    PART FIVE SHOULD I TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH?: RELIGIOUS THEMES IN INCEPTION

    17 Taking a Leap of Faith: A How-to Guide 249
    David Kyle Johnson

    18 Limbo, Utopia, and the Paradox of Idyllic Hope 265
    Clint Jones

    19 Unlocking the Vault of the Mind: Inception and Asian Philosophy 276
    Scott Daniel Dunbar

    PART SIX WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?: FINDING THE HIDDEN LESSONS OF INCEPTION

    20 Mal-Placed Regret 295
    Kimberly Blessing

    21 “You’re Just a Shade”: Knowing Others, and Yourself 310
    Daniel Forbes

    22 Paradox, Dreams, and Strange Loops in Inception 326
    Tyler Shores

    APPENDIX : A Safe Full of Secrets: Hidden Gems You May Have Missed 343

    CONTRIBUTORS: The Architects 363

    INDEX: The PASIV (Plenary Alphabetized Subject Index for This Volume) Device 371

Inception Philosophy

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    A Paperback / softback by David Kyle Johnson, William Irwin

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      Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
      Publication Date: 25/11/2011
      ISBN13: 9781118072639, 978-1118072639
      ISBN10: 1118072634
      Also in:
      Philosophy

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      A philosophical look at the movie Inception and its brilliant metaphysical puzzles

      Is the top still spinning? Was it all a dream? In the world of Christopher Nolan''s four-time Academy Award-winning movie, people can share one another''s dreams and alter their beliefs and thoughts. Inception is a metaphysical heist film that raises more questions than it answers: Can we know what is real? Can you be held morally responsible for what you do in dreams? What is the nature of dreams, and what do they tell us about the boundaries of self and other? From Plato to Aristotle and from Descartes to Hume, Inception and Philosophy draws from important philosophical minds to shed new light on the movie''s captivating themes, including the one that everyone talks about: did the top fall down (and does it even matter)?

      • Explores the movie''s key questions and themes, including how we can tell if we''re dreaming or awake, how to make sense of a paradox, and

        Table of Contents
        ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The Dream Team xi

        The Editor’s Totem: An Elegant Solution for Keeping Track of Reality 1

        Introduction: Plato’s Academy Award 11

        PART ONE WAS MAL RIGHT? WAS IT ALL JUST A DREAM?: MAKING SENSE OF INCEPTION

        1 Was It All a Dream?: Why Nolan’s Answer Doesn’t Matter 17
        Ruth Tallman

        2 Let Me Put My Thoughts in You: It Was All Just a Dream 31
        Jason Southworth

        3 Even If It Is a Dream, We Should Still Care 46
        Andrew Terjesen

        4 The Unavoidable Dream Problem 62
        James T. M. Miller

        PART TWO IS THE TOP STILL SPINNING?: TACKLING THE UNANSWERABLE QUESTION

        5 The Parable of the Spinning Top: Skepticism, Angst, and Cobb’s Choice 77
        Katherine Tullmann

        6 Reality Doesn’t Really Matter 92
        Dan Weijers

        7 Why Care whether the Top Keeps Spinning? 108
        Bart Engelen

        PART THREE IS INCEPTION POSSIBLE?: THE METAPHYSICS, ETHICS, AND MECHANICS OF INCEPTING

        8 How to Hijack a Mind: Inception and the Ethics of Heist Films 125
        Daniel P. Malloy

        9 Inception, Teaching, and Hypnosis: The Ethics of Idea-Giving 140
        Adam Barkman

        10 Inception and Free Will: Are They Compatible? 152
        John R. Fitzpatrick and David Kyle Johnson

        11 Honor and Redemption in Corporate Espionage 166
        Albert J. Chan

        PART FOUR WHAT IS DREAMING?: EXPLORING THE NATURE OF (SHARED) DREAMS (UPON DREAMS)

        12 Shared Dreaming and Extended Minds 177
        Ken Marable

        13 Morally Responsible Dreaming: Your Mind Is the Scene of the Crime 187
        Lance Belluomini

        14 Dream Time: Inception and the Philosophy of Time 199
        Michael J. Sigrist

        15 Dreams and Possible Worlds: Inception and the Metaphysics of Modality 215
        Charles Joshua Horn

        16 Do Our Dreams Occur While We Sleep? 231
        Keith Dromm

        PART FIVE SHOULD I TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH?: RELIGIOUS THEMES IN INCEPTION

        17 Taking a Leap of Faith: A How-to Guide 249
        David Kyle Johnson

        18 Limbo, Utopia, and the Paradox of Idyllic Hope 265
        Clint Jones

        19 Unlocking the Vault of the Mind: Inception and Asian Philosophy 276
        Scott Daniel Dunbar

        PART SIX WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?: FINDING THE HIDDEN LESSONS OF INCEPTION

        20 Mal-Placed Regret 295
        Kimberly Blessing

        21 “You’re Just a Shade”: Knowing Others, and Yourself 310
        Daniel Forbes

        22 Paradox, Dreams, and Strange Loops in Inception 326
        Tyler Shores

        APPENDIX : A Safe Full of Secrets: Hidden Gems You May Have Missed 343

        CONTRIBUTORS: The Architects 363

        INDEX: The PASIV (Plenary Alphabetized Subject Index for This Volume) Device 371

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