Do demons and devils have free will? Does justice exist in
Menzoberranzan? What’s the morality involved with player
characters casting necromancy and summoning spells?
Dungeons & Dragons and Philosophy probes the rich
terrain of philosophically compelling concepts and ideas that
underlie Dungeons & Dragons, the legendary fantasy
role-playing game that grew into a world-wide cultural phenomenon.
A series of accessible essays reveals what the imaginary worlds of
D&D can teach us about ethics, morality, metaphysics and
more.
* Illustrates a wide variety of philosophical concepts and ideas
that arise in Dungeons & Dragons gameplay and presents
them in an accessible and entertaining manner
* Reveals how the strategies, tactics, improvisations, and
role-play employed by D&D enthusiasts have startling
parallels in the real world of philosophy
* Explores a wide range of philosophical topics, including the
nature of free will, the metaphysics of personal identity, the
morality of crafting fictions, sex and gender issues in tabletop
gameplay, and friendship and collaborative storytelling
* Provides gamers with deep philosophical insights that can lead
to a richer appreciation of D&D and any gaming
experience
Inhoudsopgave
Abbreviations Used in the Text viii
Introduction: A Game Like No Other 1
Part I Lawful Good vs. Chaotic Evil 5
1 Sympathy for the Devils: Free Will and Dungeons & Dragons
7
Greg Littmann
2 Paragons and Knaves: Does Good Character Make for a Good
Character? 23
J.K. Miles and Karington Hess
3 Is Anyone Actually Chaotic Evil?: A Playable Theory of Willful
Wrongdoing 35
Neil Mussett
Part II So Did You Win? Philosophy and D&D Gameplay
61
4 Save vs. Death: Some Reflections on the Lifecycle of PCs
63
Christopher Robichaud
5 To My Other Self: Reflection and Existentialism in Dungeons
& Dragons 72
Rob Crandall and Charles Taliaferro
6 Player-Character Is What You Are in the Dark: The
Phenomenology of Immersion in Dungeons & Dragons 82
William J. White
Part III Crafting Worlds 93
7 Imagination and Creation: The Morality of Fiction in Dungeons
& Dragons 95
Robert A. Delfino and Jerome C. Hillock
8 Dungeonmastery as Soulcraft 106
Ben Dyer
Part IV Foray into the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance
119
9 Menzoberranzan: A Perfect Unjust State 121
Matt Hummel
10 Who Is Raistlin Majere? 132
Kevin Mc Cain
Part V The Ethics of Spellcasting 145
11 Expediency and Expendability: An Exhumation of the Morality
of Necromancy 147
Matthew Jones and Ashley Brown
12 By Friendship or Force: Is it Ethical to Summon Animals to
Fight by Your Side in Dungeons & Dragons? 163
Samantha Noll
Part VI Dungeons & Dragons out in the Real World
173
13 ‘Kill her, kill her! Oh God, I’m sorry!’:
Spectating Dungeons & Dragons 175
Esther Mac Callum-Stewart
14 Berserker in a Skirt: Sex and Gender in Dungeons &
Dragons 189
Shannon M. Mussett
15 ‘Others play at dice’: Friendship and Dungeons
& Dragons 202
Jeffery L. Nicholas
Contributors 217
Index 223
Over de auteur
Christopher Robichaud is Lecturer in Ethics and Public
Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he
teaches moral philosophy, political philosophy, and social
epistemology. He has contributed to the Wiley Blackwell volumes
Batman and Philosophy, Superman and Philosophy,
Watchmen and Philosophy, X-Men and Philosophy,
Heroes and Philosophy, Spider-Man and Philosophy, Iron Man and
Philosophy, Avengers and Philosophy, True Blood and Philosophy,
and Game of Thrones and Philosophy.
William Irwin (series editor) is Professor of Philosophy
at King’s College. He originated the philosophy and popular
culture genre of books as co-editor of the bestselling The
Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen titles including
House and Philosophy, Batman and Philosophy, and South
Park and Philosophy.
Meer e-boeken van dezelfde auteur (s) / Editor
8.698 E-boeken in deze categorie
