Futurama and Philosophy

Futurama is a quirky, animated sitcom created by Simpson ’s mastermind Matt Groening. Since it first aired on the FOX network from 1999 to 2003, its many dedicated fans have created websites and newsletters and organized Comic-Con meetups and letter-writing campaigns in hopes of learning the further adventures of its stars. In 2009 Futurama announced new episodes and returned to Comedy Central. Futurama and Philosophy meets this new surge of interest, letting philosophers and Futurama fans compare notes about time travel, alternate universes, evolution, artificial intelligence, and the ethical dilemmas of suicide booths, “mad” scientists like Farnsworth, and robots like Bender who aspire to bad taste. Would “interplanetary golf” really be possible? Why is it that a fossilized dog is really “man’s best friend”? What is going on inside Dr. Zoidberg’s Freedom Lesson? Fans of the show and those who appreciate the cosmic, existential framework in which it exists gain much from this intriguing book.