The Onion, with its unique brand of deadpan satirical humor, has become a familiar part of the American scene. The newspaper has a readership of over a million, and reaches millions more with its spin-off books and Onion News Network. The Onion has shown us that standard ways of thinking about the news have their grotesque and silly side, and this invites philosophical examination. Twenty-one philosophers were commissioned to provide witty philosophical perspectives on just what makes the Onion so truthful and insightful. Former Governor Sarah Palin reported: I just couldn’t put it down. The Onion and Philosophy is the most exciting book I’ve read since Principia Mathematica.” Are the Onion writers truly cynical, or just cynically faking it? Does the Onion really have a serious point of view on religion? On sex? On politics? Who cares what Area Man thinks? If everyone’s so dumb, how come so many Onion readers keep on laughing at how dumb they are?
Über den Autor
Sharon M. Kaye is Professor of Philosophy at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. She is the author of several books, including Critical Thinking (Oneworld Press, 2009), Medieval Philosophy (Oneworld Press, 2008), and Black Market Truth (Parmenides Publishing, 2008), co-author of several books, including Philosophy for Teens (Prufrock Press, 2006) and More Philosophy for Teens (Prufrock Press, 2007), and editor of Lost and Philosophy (Blackwell, 2007).