Book 4 - "The Big Bang And Philosophy"

The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Aristotle,Locke

edited by Dean A. Kowalski (Open Court books)





The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy is a study of art that teaches us about life, an investigation of the ethical and moral philosophy of TV characters. The funniest parts of this book are the episode synopses and snatches of dialogue that the contributors of this edited set of essays refer to.

And though this book is about philosophy, it does exhibit some sense of humour. For example, from the introduction, “Yes, some philosophy books attempt to explain the nature of science and why it’s so important to study, but, inexplicably they do so without references to Darth Vader Force chokes, spherical chicken jokes or oompa loompa. Go figure.”

The essay/chapter titles are also humorous, with quotes from the series such as, “You’re a Sucky, Sucky Friend” and “Is It Wrong To Say I Love Our Killer Robot?” while the index is titled “Cornucopia . . . Let’s Make That Our Word of the Day.”

The contributing authors’ professions include pop culture enthusiasts, computer scientists, science writers, professors of philosophy, even a librarian. The show is about geeks and geek culture. It should be no surprise that the contributors are geeks as well. And also what should not surprise: Each essay is footnoted.

The separation between the humorous introduction and the less humorous “let’s take a serious look at what that means,” occurs right after the introduction. Each contribution provides the reader a sampling of dialogue, for example:

Penny: So, what’s new in the world of physics?
Leonard: Nothing.
Penny: Really, nothing?
Leonard: Well with the exception of string theory, not much has happened since the 1930s. And you can’t prove string theory. At best you can say, “Hey look, my idea has an internal logical consistency.”
Penny: Well, I'm sure things will pick up.

The dialogue is followed by more serious concerns such as, What is the good life? What is the right thing to do? Do free will and choice exist? How should we live? and more.

The contributors ask pointed questions in order to provide insight into differences in behaviour between the real world and the virtual, gender roles, multiculturalism, friendship, and love. Episodes and character relationships are presented as examples of functional or dysfunctional relationships — between men and women, mothers and sons, scientists and religious fundamentalists (and often permutations thereof), insight into the nature of truth and morality — and often in the case of Sheldon, the failure to reduce complex social skills to formal matters of logic.

Many episodes show the pitfalls of living an unbalanced life, pushing us to discover more about ourselves by exposing alternative ways of life. The humour is in the gap between theory and practice, between moderation and excessiveness, and from the conflicts and contradictions that arise from confusing simple virtual relationships from the more complex face-to-face ones.

The most fascinating character is Sheldon Cooper. Sheldon is a living contradiction. He is contemptuous of the humanities but a lover of comic books. Sheldon is anti-religion but religiously scientific. He lives the life of the intellect to an extreme and would if he could, upload his brain and become a robot. Sheldon’s mother says this of Sheldon: “He gets his temper from his daddy. He’s got my eyes. All that science stuff, oh that comes from Jesus.”

One contributor asks the question, How would a philosopher compare Sheldon Cooper against the ideal set forth by Aristotle or “What is it to live the life of Sheldon?” Consider if you will, Aristotle on a warm summer’s night in ancient Greece, loosening up his Toga, not contemplating the stars but kicking back on a couch with an amphora (that’s a Greek vessel that can contain either dry or liquid materials) of retsina (that’s a Greek wine that tastes of pine—hence a liquid) to watch TV (that’s an anachronism, your analogy is fatally flawed, but continue) and philosophize about The Big Bang Theory.

Sadly Aristotle’s writing on comedy has been lost to the ages, but we do know a few things about him, in particular that Aristotle held poetry above history. Poetry speaks to the universal, while history speaks merely to the particular.

One may assume that Aristotle would have approved of comic books as comic books have been used as inspiration for questions about physics, time, causality, and personal identity. And though Aristotle would find much to admire in The Big Bang Theory, presumably he “would give Sheldon a mixed report card.”

Though friendship is a constant theme, Sheldon has a persistent struggle with friendship in anything but its most utilitarian form. As Sheldon says to Leonard, “You are my best friend. I've known you for seven years, and I can barely tolerate sitting on the couch with you.”
Sheldon is also a practical joker, capable of saying crazy things believably because he believes crazy things, yet he has trouble lying. It’s not that Sheldon can’t lie, but lying is one social skill among many that he lacks, “When I try to deceive, I myself have more nervous tics than a Lyme disease research facility.” So when it comes down to outright lies, he opts for complexity over sincerity and plausibility. He instead provides an “unravelable web” of supporting evidence—a web that always unravels.

Sheldon is rigidly beholden to rules. Like Hobbes (the philosopher), Sheldon knows that rules prevent the world from descending into anarchy. Rules are the thin line that prevents the mass of civilization from living like hippies. Sheldon also exhibits an extreme view of science, scientism: the belief that there are no limits to science, especially in respect to human values. This is a belief also shared by his friends Leonard and Raj.

Leonard: Some physicists are concerned that if the supercollider actually works, it will create a black hole and swallow up the Earth, ending life as we know it.

Raj: What a bunch of cry-babies.

We also know that Sheldon is not crazy because when accused he says, “My mother had me tested”—though the rest of us may continue to have our doubts. One essay informs us of a Times magazine interview with Jim Parsons, the actor who portrays Sheldon, that the scriptwriters said that Sheldon does not have a condition. Are the scriptwriters honest? If Sheldon were autistic it would be wrong to laugh. Autism is a spectrum disorder. Sheldon appears to suffer from its mildest form, Aspergers syndrome. Those with Aspergers have trouble with irony, sarcasm, figures of speech, and empathy—all of which are traits Sheldon possesses. As portrayed, Sheldon displays not so much a disability but a personality. His traits are en-abilities.

Sheldon’s worst trait is arrogance, told by Raj, “If you were a superhero your name would be Captain Arrogant. And do you know what your super power would be? Arrogance!” Arrogance leads to what another contributor calls the “Cooper Conundrum,” the intolerance of tolerance, which may be used for learning how to respect people we fundamentally disagree with. And some more dialogue in illustration:

Sheldon: I will spend the rest of my life here in Texas trying to teach evolution to
creationists.
Sheldon’s Mother: You watch your mouth, Shelly. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.
Sheldon: Evolution isn’t an opinion. It’s a fact.
Sheldon’s Mother: And that is your opinion.

Every superhero should get the arch-enemy he deserves. Sheldon’s arch-enemy is Wil Wheaton, portrayed as Wil Wheaton! The essay “. . . But is Wil Wheaton evil”?” refers to the episode “The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary,” and points out its many layered references including, Star Trek, The Next Generation (Wil Wheaton as Ensign Wesley Crusher), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Moby Dick), and Star Wars (“Perhaps Sheldon should do as Wil suggests and embrace the dark side even though that phrase isn’t from his franchise.”)

Among the philosophical questions addressed in this essay are, “What is evil?” and “What makes anyone evil in the first place?” The philosophers Leibniz, Voltaire, Buber, Nietzsche, and Arendt are referenced, and the need to distinguish purely evil acts from the merely inappropriate is highlighted.

Sheldon isn’t the only character put under a microscope for philosophical study. Raj has a pathological fear of women that he treats with alcohol and experimental medicine. Leslie Winkle is both sexually aggressive and not nice.

Wolowitz is almost 30, lives with his mother, and follows what one contributor calls the “doctrine of the swine”—at least he did until he fell in love with Bernadette, whereupon he experiences an epic role-reversal, but not without backsliding. The characters Penny and Leonard are identified as being the most normal but as one essayist notes, “It’s unclear what measure we use for abnormality here.”

Strangely none of the contributors recognize that Mayim Bialik who portrays Amy Farrah Fowler, a character with a PhD in neurobiology has in real life, a doctorate in neuroscience! And only one contributor recognizes that the characters are named after real scientists and logicians.

Apart from that caveat, this is a very entertaining book.

Bugger

Just had an email reply from Lisa from the angel inspired fish people that the wonga will be sent as a cheque next week, the very week I go to the Sussex coast on the Wednesday. That cheque had better arrive by Wednesday morning as, not only is it FTLC the following day, but I owe my brother forty quid.

I said to her in a reply could it be sent as a BACS transfer or that week away will feel like a dull squid.