Planet of the Apes and Philosophy: Great Apes Think Alike (Popular Culture and Philosophy, 74) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0812698223 ISBN 13: 9780812698220

Publisher: Open Court, 2013

Synopsis

What makes humans different from other animals, what humans are entitled to do to other species, whether time travel is possible, what limits should be placed on science and technology, the morality and practicality of genetic engineering these are just some of the philosophical problems raised by Planet of the Apes.
Planet of the Apes and Philosophy looks at all the deeper issues involved in the Planet of the Apes stories. It covers the entire franchise, from Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel Monkey Planet to the successful 2012 reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The chapters reflect diverse points of view, philosophical, religious, and scientific.
The ethical relations of humans with animals are explored in several chapters, with entertaining and incisive observations on animal intelligence, animal rights, and human-animal interaction. Genetic engineering is changing humans, animals, and plants, raising new questions about the morality of such interventions. The scientific recognition that humans and chimps share 99 percent of their genes makes a future in which non-human animals acquire greater importance a distinct possibility.
Planet of the Apes is the most resonant of all scientific apocalypse myths.

About this title

About the Author:

John Huss is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Akron in Ohio and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Center for Genetic Research Ethics and law at Case Western Reserve University. He is co-writer, with Loch Phillipps and Lee Skaife, of the cult classic film, Use Your Head.

Review:

"Planet of the Apes and Philosophy is nothing if not thorough in its mission. If there is a science, philosophy, psychology, or even pseudoscience touched on in any of the Planet of the Apes films or television shows, or the original Pierre Boulle novel, you will find it here." - PopMatters.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Open Court
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0812698223
• ISBN 13: 9780812698220
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: Huss John