Boston, MA—January 8, 2009— In advance of the final ten episodes of this exciting, thought provoking television series, Wiley-Blackwell's presents its latest installment of its Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There. The authors of the book go, to quote an earlier Sci-Fi series, "where no man has gone before."
In Baldwin's chapter, "How To Be Happy After the End of the World," he emphasizes that humanity is continuing to evolve and that the human need to strive for something better is a defining quality. "Resistance vs. Collaboration" touches on the very real, incendiary issue of terrorist tactics: under what circumstances are they justified? "The Search for Starbuck: The Needs of the Many vs. the Few" makes a couple of points that raise alarm bells in today's society.
The fact that Starbuck is female – as is the president – makes a strike against gender stereotyping and shows that whether one is male or female is really a non-issue, so long as the job gets done. In fact the whole notion of gender stereotyping is assaulted and demolished when you consider that Starbuck's real last name is 'Thrace'. This was taken from 'Thrax' – the son of Ares, the Grecian God of War. The character of Starbuck is not only a hotshot, a gambler, and sexually voracious, but is described as being the best Viper pilot ever! So much for the gentler sex.
As editor Jason Eberl points out, "The Cylons and the humans are all just playing their roles in a cosmic story that repeats again and again. There are polytheists, monotheists, atheists, those who believe in the cyclical nature of time and destiny – all those different viewpoints are represented. You get to see things through different perspectives. It takes the best of what's been done in the past and then expands and twists it."
Dating from the original series in 1978 through the present, at least 5 comic book publishers, including Marvel, have issued numerous series of Battlestar Galactica adaptations. There have been a minimum of five video games, one board game, one role playing game, a space-flight simulator game and a community related strategy game developed and in development. Time, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and National Review have all raved about the series. Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There serves to entice, fascinate and allow fans to delve deeper into the show's themes, long after the series has ended.
About the Editor
Jason T. Eberl is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis where he directs a graduate program in bioethics. He also teaches medieval philosophy and metaphysics. He's the co-editor (with Kevin Decker) of Star Wars and Philosophy (2005) and Star Trek and Philosophy (2008). He has contributed to similar books on Stanley Kubrick, Harry Potter, and Metallica.
About Wiley-Blackwell
Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 as a result of the acquisition of Blackwell Publishing Ltd. by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and its merger with Wiley's Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Together, the companies have created a global publishing business with deep strength in every major academic and professional field. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,400 scholarly peer-reviewed journals and an extensive collection of books with global appeal. For more information on Wiley-Blackwell, please visit www.wiley-blackwell.com or http://interscience.wiley.com.