Avatar: The Last Airbender and Philosophy Book Launch

null, null, null, null, Thomas Arnold (University of Heidelberg), null, null, null, null, David Schwitzgebel (Institut Jean Nicod), null, Brett Patterson (Clemson University), null, Dr Helen De Cruz (VU University Amsterdam), Nicole Fice, Isaac Wilhelm (Rutgers University - New Brunswick), Johnathan Flowers, Natalia Strok (Conicet), Barrett Emerick (St. Mary's College of Maryland), Audrey Yap (University of Victoria), Eric Schwitzgebel (University of California, Riverside), Justin F. White (Brigham Young University), Brett Patterson

Avatar: The Last Airbender and Philosophy brings to the fore the Eastern, Western, and Indigenous philosophies that are implicit in the show. Following Uncle Iroh’s advice that it is important to draw wisdom from many traditions, this volume features contributions by experts on Buddhist, Daoist, Confucian, and Indigenous schools of thought, next to focusing on Western classical authors such as Plotinus, Kant, and Merleau-Ponty. The volume is also unique in drawing on less common traditions such as black abolitionism, anarchism, feminist care ethics, and the philosophy of martial arts. Intertwining experience and reflection, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Philosophy helps readers to deeply engage with today’s burning questions, such as how to deal with ecological destruction, the aftermath of colonialism and genocide, and wealth inequality, using the tools from a wide range of philosophical traditions.

This online book launch will feature several of the authors of contributions to the volume. Participants will be entered into a prize draw for three free copies of the book.

Program

(all times are given in CT)

2:30 Brief introduction on Avatar: The Last Airbender and Philosophy by Helen De Cruz (co-editor)

Taster sessions of contributions to the volume

Water

* 2:37 Nicole Fice, “‘I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me’: Repairing the world through care”

* 2:44 Johnathan Flowers, “On the moral neutrality of bloodbending”

* 2:51 Isaac Wilhelm, “Mystical rationality”

Earth

* 2:58 Thomas Arnold, “The middle way and the many faces of earth”

* 3:05 Natalia Strok, “Time is an illusion: Time and space in the swamp”

* 3:13 Break with giveaway of free copies of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Philosophy

Fire

* 3:23 Barrett Emerick and Audrey Yap, “Not giving up on Zuko: Relational identity and the stories we tell”

* 3:30 Eric Schwitzgebel and David Schwitzgebel, “Uncle Iroh, from fool to sage – or sage all along?”

* 3:37 Justin White “Being bad at being good: Zuko’s transformation and residual practical identities”

Air

*  3:44 Brett Patterson “The Avatar meets the Karmapa: Interconnections, friendship, and moral training”

*  3:51 James William Lincoln, “Ahimsa and Aang’s dilemma: ‘Everyone … [has] to be treated like they're worth giving a chance’”