Socrates and the Spirit of Philosophy
Chapter 1. Flatulence and Philosophy: A Lot of Hot Air or the Corruption of the Youth?
By William W. Young III
Pop Culture Resources:
– Summary of the episode “Death”
Philosophical Resources:
– Text of Plato’s Apology
– Trial of Socrates activity
– Ancient Ethical Theory (Stanford Encyclopedia)
– Article on Arendt’s Banality of Evil
Logic and Fallacies
2. The Chewbacca Defense: A South Park Logic Lesson
By Robert Arp
Pop Culture Resources:
– Summary of the Episode “Death”
– Summary of the Episode “Scott Tenorman Must Die”
Philosophical Resources:
– Hasty Generalization
– Red Herring examples
– Slippery Slope examples
– False dilemma examples
– Appeal to (inappropriate) authority examples
– Ad hominem example
Relativism and Truth
3. Wikiality, Truthiness, and Gut Thinking: Doing Philosophy Colbert-Style
By David Kyle Johnson
Pop Culture Resources:
-Colbert Report official site
–Colbert bio
–Colbert’s White House Correspondents Dinner speech
-Interview with Colbert (Out of Character)
Philosophical Resources:
-Plato’s Apology
-A short article (from Reason and Meaning) on why truth is not relative
-Quick History (from PBS) about Socrates and the Oracle of Delphi
introducingphilosophythroughpopculture.com 