July 2023 MBR The Philosophy Shelf

The Philosophy Shelf

Asimov's Foundation and Philosophy
Joshua Heter and Josef Thomas Simpson, editors
Carus Books
www.carusbooks.com
9781637700303, $24.95

https://www.amazon.com/Asimovs-Foundation-Philosophy-Joshua-Heter/dp/163770030X

Asimov's Foundation and Philosophy is the ninth volume in the Pop Culture and Philosophy series and links philosophical inspection to Asimov's famous series of books and its TV show incarnation. The process of creating a galactic history holds many fascinating accompanying philosophical considerations, explored in such diverse essays as Leonard Kahn's 'Morality and Manipulation' or Walter Barta and Graham Lee's 'An Interstellar Leap of Faith.'

A prerequisite to successfully utilizing these references is an intimate familiarity with the Foundation series and its basic concepts. Readers with such a background (which may require re-reading these classics, for those who absorbed them decades ago) will find these essays thought-provoking, enlightening, and worthy of debate and discussion in sci-fi book reading circles and classrooms. They take a leap of logic and philosophical inspection in encouraging a closer inspection of the Foundation series as a whole and Asimov's underlying messages, making this book a strong adjunct to any assignment of the Foundation series and for any modern philosophy class.

Queen and Philosophy
Jared Kemling and Randall E. Auxier, editors
Carus Books
www.carusbooks.com
9781637700327, $22.95

https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Philosophy-Guaranteed-Blow-Culture/dp/1637700326

Queen and Philosophy: Guaranteed to Blow Your Mind is the sixth volume in the Pop Culture and Philosophy series, and gathers delightful philosophical and musical connections in exploring the music of Queen. Here are discourses on Queen's music, impact, and controversy that raises key questions about the group's perception and evolution, as in Megan Volpert's essay 'Is Adam Lambert a Killer of Queen or Somebody to Love?': "There are as many versions of Queen as there are people who perceive the band because the way Queen is in our minds doesn't necessarily have any connection to the way Queen exists outside of our minds."

Heavy, thought-provoking reading is featured which is eminently suitable for a musical group such as Queen, linking modern philosophical thinking and perception with elements of the group's music and presentation. In delving into the quintessence that is Queen, this volume will draw in non-philosophy and philosophy readers alike, making the case to prove that, in modern society, philosophy can still be relevant and, indeed, is an intrinsic part of how we look at life and absorb its icons of culture.

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