Aristotle and Nietzsche are just two of the most well-known philosopher. They have contributed so many philosophical ideas now a days. They are one of the philosopher that portrays the protagonist of the sitcom called "The Simpsons." But have we ever wondered how are they connected to the famous sitcom The Simpson?
According to Melissa Lonquich in her article entitled "The Simpson and Philosophy":
"Many of us have grown up watching the hit television cartoon "The Simpsons". We all spend a total of what I sure was hours discussing the previous nights episode with friends at school the next day. What most of us weren't aware of was the massive amount of philosophical insight embodied within the show we have grown to love."
Melissa Lonquich stated that in the book "The Simpson's and Philosophy" written by William Irwin, Mark T. Conrad, and Aeon J. Skoble, there are hidden philosophical ideas found in the characters.
"Many of us have grown up watching the hit television cartoon "The Simpsons". We all spend a total of what I sure was hours discussing the previous nights episode with friends at school the next day. What most of us weren't aware of was the massive amount of philosophical insight embodied within the show we have grown to love."
Melissa Lonquich stated that in the book "The Simpson's and Philosophy" written by William Irwin, Mark T. Conrad, and Aeon J. Skoble, there are hidden philosophical ideas found in the characters.
First is Homer. We see Homer as the most popular character in the show. We see him as dumb and a liar father who never does anything right. But in the article, They analyze the moral aspect of Homer. We see him not that morally good but he is also not that wicked. To connect him to Aristotle, He conveys the Aristotelian ethics. We define ethics as distinguishing what is good from bad. As for Homer, most viewers admired him. Not because he does something bad but he has this quality that makes him, in some ways, morally good.
Second is Marge, a typical housewife in the show. She is a religious woman yet she uses here reason as her guide not like the Flanders who does religious whether it would harm them or not. She is the kind of woman who can stand up by her family. To connect her to Aristotle, She follows the Aristotelian philosophy (philosophical tradition begun by Aristotle) of living happy, moral life and with great success.
Third is their kids: Bart , Lisa and Maggie. Bart is a very bratty kid. He is also a habitual Liar just like his father, Homer. But this boy portrays the phrase "It's good to be bad." Because of this, he was connected to the philosopher, Nietzsche, who is a philosophy's bad boy. The common thing about Bart and Nietzsche is that Nietzsche rejected the so called "good person." He rejects morality and virtues. He rather embrace and follow the chaos of the world and so is Bart. Lisa, on the other hand, is a very smart girl. Just like her mother, she is a strong woman. She is a pro-intellectual girl that makes her think and act like an adult. Last but not the least, the forgotten daughter, Maggie. If you will closely analyze the episodes in the Simpsons, we can see that homer forgets Maggie exist. We can see Maggie as a very quiet baby girl. That is why she portrays the phrase "Silence is golden" which portrays most western philosophy.
I have found another article by Tyler Shores, also entitled The Simpsons and Philosophy.
Stated in his article, The University of California, Berkeley offered the course of The Simpsons and Philosophy which was founded in 2003. It was offered to thousand of students. This course was offered to the Berkeley students for them to understand and get closer to philosophy.
As we all know, cartoons are very fun to watch. We rather watch and read cartoons than reading those boring textbooks. With this course, Students from Berkeley can easily engage themselves to philosophy through connecting The Simpsons through Philosophy. It is fun and at the same time intellectually challenging for the students.
According to Julian Baggini, "why cartoons are the best form in which to do philosophy is that they are non realistic in the same way that philosophy is. Philosophy needs to be real in the sense that it has to make sense of the world as it is, not as we imagine or want it to be."
After reading this two articles, I realized how the Simpsons really influence our live most especially when studying Philosophy. The Simpsons is not just a cartoon, because it really helps us a lot not only entertaining others but also for understanding and enjoying what Philosophy is.
I have found another article by Tyler Shores, also entitled The Simpsons and Philosophy.
Stated in his article, The University of California, Berkeley offered the course of The Simpsons and Philosophy which was founded in 2003. It was offered to thousand of students. This course was offered to the Berkeley students for them to understand and get closer to philosophy. As we all know, cartoons are very fun to watch. We rather watch and read cartoons than reading those boring textbooks. With this course, Students from Berkeley can easily engage themselves to philosophy through connecting The Simpsons through Philosophy. It is fun and at the same time intellectually challenging for the students.
According to Julian Baggini, "why cartoons are the best form in which to do philosophy is that they are non realistic in the same way that philosophy is. Philosophy needs to be real in the sense that it has to make sense of the world as it is, not as we imagine or want it to be."
After reading this two articles, I realized how the Simpsons really influence our live most especially when studying Philosophy. The Simpsons is not just a cartoon, because it really helps us a lot not only entertaining others but also for understanding and enjoying what Philosophy is.
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