The Sopranos and Philosophy: I Kill Therefore I Am

Out of all 'Sopranos' research books about psychology, business, management or philosophy, this one truly stands out as being the best. The main reason is probably the amount of authors that wrote chapters for it. More people make more opinions about the show and write about different aspects. I really enjoyed reading this one!

Philosophers who are fans of the popular television series "Sopranos" would seem an odd mix, but Sopranos And Philosophy: I Kill Therefore I Am provides an essay collection, compiled and edited by Richard Greene and Peter Vernezze, which probes not only the show and the personalities of its actors, but the underlying philosophy and attraction of the mafia family. Sopranos and Philosophy is an intriguing and informative survey of ethical judgment and philosophy.

Finally, a great book for a great series. I am a fan of The Sopranos but was unfamiliar with the Open Court Popular Culture and Philosophy series before picking up this volume, so I can't speak to how this book compares to others in the series. But as a Sopranos fan, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and that it added to my appreciation and understanding of my favorite show. To give a few examples, the essays on Sun-Tzu and Machiavelli explained clearly to a non-philosopher who these two figures (both of whom Tony mentions) are and why knowing something about them helps you to understand the motivation of some of the characters on the show. An issue which has long interested me has been whether watching the show can actually be morally harmful, and two of the essays in the book specifically addressed this topic (and put my mind at ease). And the entire ethics section provided an nice overview of this daunting subject and explained its relevance to the series, focusing on such issues as whether the series espouses a relativistic viewpoint (it doesn't), and whether Carmela is a feminist (she's on her way).The seventeen essays are grouped under five headings: history of philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion. If these topics sound too academic for a show like The Sopranos, don't worry. All but one or two of the essays are written in a style accessible to the general reading public.The essays provide a good mix of discussion of the first four seasons of the show. The essay on nihilism traces Tony's existential crisis across the first fifty-two episodes. The chapter on how The Sopranos is like a Greek tragedy focuses primarily on season one, whereas the essay on the problem of evil places emphasis on the dominance of that issue in season four. While many of the essays focus on Tony (for obvious reasons), it seems all the major characters are amply covered. Carmela gets an essay devoted entirely to her, and Dr. Melfi is prominently discussed in several essays. Even Charmaine Bucco comes under scrutiny.The authors love for the show is evident in every essay, and the editors seem to have taken great care to get things right. I checked many of the quotes against my DVD copies of the series and found them dead on accurate. My only complaint is that I would have liked more essays. And though I am glad Open Court decided to put the volume out now, since it has greatly deepened my appreciation for The Sopranos, I hope they put out a revised version once the series ends.

This book is a great read for the person who loves popular culture and the media especially the Sopranos. Tony's Tao or Way of Life is not in balance he is the leader of a crime family yet needs to see a shrink to keep his panic attacks in check. This book takes us from Ancient China in the Art of War to the feminist point of view of Carmela. Tonys life is like a Greek tragedy with all the characters. This book asks us the question when in art dangerous? Read this book if only to understand the jargon like & quot;hit & quot;, & quot;clip & quot;, & quot;pop & quot; & quot;whack & quot;, & quot;take care of & quot;, & quot;pinched & quot;, & quot;rat & quot;, & quot;a friend of ours & quot;, & quot;capo & quot; or & quot;goomah & quot; If love the Soprano's this is the book for you. Even if you don't have a lot of use for Philosophy. If not & quot;forget about it & quot;

I come at this review with two biases. First, I majored in Philosophy in college and never quit reading it. Second, I love the Sopranos. So it's no great surprise that I liked this book. What is a surprise is that I think lots of people will like this book, even if they've never had much of a desire to pursue philosophy.There's a nice balance of classic philosophy (Tony Soprano as Aristotelean hero), 19th century philosophy (Sopranos as nihilism), eastern philosophy (Tony's use of Sun Tzu to guide him in the business), and modern philosophy (Carmela as feminist). Using a successful television series to demonstrate how philosophy is more than abstract throught and can be used to guide modern actions is a tremendously clever idea. If you are looking for hard-core philosophy, this is not your book. There's no Hegelian dialectics or heavy language to digest. Instead, this is a fun and easy way to expose yourself to philosophy or refresh yourself on many different schools of thought. The Sopranos is a great backdrop against which the reader can explore the ethics of modern society.