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White, Mark D. The Virtues of Captain America: Modern-Day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014. 
Added by: joachim (12/10/2015, 16:24)   
Resource type: Book
Language: en: English
ID no. (ISBN etc.): 978-1-118-61926-1
BibTeX citation key: White2014
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Categories: General
Keywords: "Captain America", Ethics, Nationalism, Philosophy, Superhero, USA
Creators: White
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (Chichester)
Views: 18/741
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Abstract
In The Virtues of Captain America, philosopher and long-time comics fan Mark D. White argues that the core principles, compassion, and judgment exhibited by the 1940’s comic book character Captain America remain relevant to the modern world. Simply put, “Cap” embodies many of the classical virtues that have been important to us since the days of the ancient Greeks: honesty, courage, loyalty, perseverance, and, perhaps most importantly, honor. Full of entertaining examples from more than 50 years of comic books, White offers some serious philosophical discussions of everyone’s favorite patriot in a light-hearted and accessible way.
  • Presents serious arguments on the virtues of Captain America while being written in a light-hearted and often humorous tone
  • Introduces basic concepts in moral and political philosophy to the general reader
  • Utilizes examples from 50 years of comics featuring Captain America, the Avengers, and other Marvel superheroes
  • Affirms the value of “old-fashioned” virtues for the modern world without indulging in nostalgia for times long passed
  • Reveals the importance of the sound principles that America was founded upon
  • Publishing in advance of Captain America: The Winter Soldier out in April 2014.

Table of Contents

Introduction (vii)
Acknowledgments (xiii)
Notes on Source Material (xiv)
About the Author (xvi)

1. Superhuman Ethics Class (1)
Utilitarianism (2)
Deontology (6)
A Civil War … of Ethics! (10)
Virtue Ethics (13)
Virtuous Deontology … No, Deontological Virtue … Maybe “Deontovirtue”? (18)

2. Captain America as a Moral Exemplar (25)
Can a Fictional Character Be a Moral Exemplar? (26)
Aren’t Fictional Characters Liable to Be Perfect? (29)
Fifty Years, Dozens of Writers … One Captain America? (34)

3. Five Basic Virtues (45)
Courage (46)
Humility (50)
Righteous Indignation (54)
Sacrifice and Responsibility (58)
Perseverance (63)

4. Honor and Integrity (76)
The Honor of Captain America (76)
External Honor as Respect (78)
Internal Honor as Integrity (85)
Principle and Compromise (88)
Duty and Sacrifice (Again) (96)

5. Judgment (109)
Making the Hard Decisions (110)
Whose Right Answer? (115)
Tragic Dilemmas and How to Avoid Them (118)
“Black-and-White” or Red, White, and Blue?
When Judgment Evolves (122)
Hitting the Threshold (131)

6. Principle and Politics (143)
Patriotism: The Captain and America (143)
Cosmopolitanism (146)
The American Dream Versus the American Reality (150)
“I’m a Hero, Not a Politician!” (153)
Principle over Politics (156)
Captain America in (Principled) Action (161)
Secret Empire/Nomad (161)
The Captain (163)
Civil War (166)

7. Can Captain America Help Us Achieve Greater Unity and Civility? (178)
The “Divided States of America,” Then and Now (178)
The Three Core American Ideals (181)
Justice (182)
Equality (184)
Liberty (186)
Debating What We Disagree On While Recognizing What We Share (188)
Now It’s Our Turn (193)

Appendix: Why Are There Seven Volumes of Captain America and Five Volumes of Avengers? (198)
References (202)
Index (221)


Added by: joachim  Last edited by: joachim
Notes
Rez.: Alain Marciano, in: Journal of Popular Culture 42.4 (2015), S. 810–812
Added by: joachim  Last edited by: joachim
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