Sons of Anarchy and Philosophy

Introduction: "Gotta Look This Life in the Eye" viii
 
Acknowledgments: Thanks to the Reaper Crew x
 
Part I "An Equal Mix of Might and Right": Ethics at 92 mph 1
 
1 Virtue and Vice in the SAMCROpolis: Aristotle Views Sons of Anarchy 3
Jason T. Eberl
 
2 A Prospect's Guide to Nietzsche 16
Tim Jung and Minerva Ahumada
 
3 Tig Needs an Escort Home: Is Loyalty a Virtue? 29
James Edwin Mahon
 
4 A Saint among the Sons: Aquinas on Murder and the Men of Mayhem 38
Randall M. Jensen
 
Part II "Off the Social Grid": The Politics of Mayhem 51
 
5 SAMCRO versus the Leviathan: Laying Down the (Motor)Cycle of Violence 53
George A. Dunn
 
6 "The Rat Prince" and The Prince: The Machiavellian Politics of the MC 65
Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy
 
7 Chaos and Order: Anarchy in the MC 73
Bruno de Brito Serra
 
8 "Another Fun-Filled Day in the Six Counties": The Real IRA--Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? 85
Philip Smolenski
 
9 SAMCRO Goes to War 94
Alex Leveringhaus
 
Part III "The Concept Was Pure, Simple, True": Biker Identity and Meaning 105
 
10 My Skin, My Self: SAMCRO's Ink and Personal Identity 107
Charlene Elsby
 
11 The Faith of Our Sons and the Tragic Quest 117
Kevin Corn
 
12 Once a Biker Slut, Always a Biker Slut: Narrative Identity in Charming 128
Minerva Ahumada and Tim Jung
 
13 SAMCRO and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 139
Massimiliano L. Cappuccio
 
Part IV "The Passion in His Heart and the Reason in His Mind": Sex, Love, and Gender 151
 
14 Sometimes a Motorcycle Is Just a Motorcycle: Freud and Hamlet Come to Charming 153
Andrea Zanin
 
15 When a Charming Woman Speaks 165
Leslie A. Aarons
 
16 Mothers of Anarchy: Power, Control, and Care in the Feminine Sphere 175
Leigh C. Kolb
 
Part V "Each Savage Event Was a Catalyst for the Next": The Historic and the Homeric 187
 
17 Sons of

George A. Dunn is a lecturer at the University of Indianapolis and Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University, China, and a writer on pop culture and philosophy. He is an editor of The Hunger Games and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012) and True Blood and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) and has contributed chapters to many other books in the Blackwell Philosophy & Pop Culture series, including books on Terminator, Iron Man, Battlestar Galactica, and Mad Men.
 
Jason T. Eberl is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He is the editor of Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008) and co-editor (with Kevin S. Decker) of Star Wars and Philosophy (2005) and Star Trek and Philosophy (2008). He has also written essays for similar volumes on Harry Potter, Metallica, Stanley Kubrick, The Hunger Games, Terminator, and Avatar.
 

William Irwin is Professor of Philosophy at King's College. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including Superman and Philosophy, Black Sabbath and Philosophy, and Spider-Man and Philosophy.