DANILO CHAIB wrote his PhD on conductorless orchestras at the Equality Studies with the School of Social Justice, University College Dublin. It all began in 1987, when he discovered that orchestral conductors are in fact, monsters created by Victor Frankenstein’s great-grandson, Dr. Stein. He wrote a song about it, called “Dr. Stein.” However, a guy from a German band called “Helloween” stole it and it became one of the biggest heavy metal hits. Danilo teaches at the Escola de Musica de Brasilia in Brazil.
CYNTHIA D. COE is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Central Washington University. Her respect for Kenneth Branagh was dented but not destroyed by his lousy and grotesque version of Frankenstein—nobody needs to see that much placental fluid.
JESSIE DERN is Abby Normal in her own right, Jessie has “mastered” the philosophical art of bestowing life on ideas, creating many frankentexts over her years at Villanova University. She now trains her students to make their own monsters.
JEFF EWING is a graduate student in Sociology at the University of Oregon. In honor of the work of Victor Frankenstein, he hopes to do a dissertation stitched together from pieces of existing works-—a little Das Kapital, a dash of Crime and Punishment, a paragraph from The Art of War, some recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and three pages from the phone book.
JOHN R. FITZPATRICK is a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. He received a PhD in Philosophy from the main branch of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 2001. He is the author of John Stuart Mill’s Political Philosophy: Balancing Freedom and the Collective Good (2006), and Starting with Mill (2010). He is a contributor to several popular philosophy books which does not necessarily make him a virtuous individual but does indicate that he is far less alienated than Victor Frankenstein.
JAI GALLIOTT dabbles in philosophy at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and is an associate of a killer lab, the Consortium on Emerging Technologies, Military Operations, and National Security. His research concerns the ethical, moral, and legal consequences of using all things deadly, whether made of steel or flesh and bone.
MIRKO D. GARASIC joined the Centre for Human Bioethics in 2011, as an Erasmus Mundus Fellow, and remains affiliated with the Center for Ethics and Global Politics, LUISS University in Rome. He has published a number of works on human enhancement, biopolitics, circumcision, enforced medical treatment, hunger strikes, and infanticide. He has decided to give all of that up so that he can write about Frankenstein.
MICHAEL HAUSKELLER is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Exeter. He read natural philosophy at the University of Darmstadt, which is only three miles from Frankenstein Castle where, in 1673, his fifth great-grandfather, the alchemist Johann Christoph Dippel, was born, rumored to have been the model for Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein.
KEITH HESS is a PhD Candidate in Philosophy at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He spends his days studying, lounging on the beach, and re-animating dead tissue.
DALE JACQUETTE is Senior Professorial Chair in Logic and Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Bern, Switzerland. He is author or editor of thirty-three books and has published more than 350 essays in philosophical journals and books, especially in logic, analytic metaphysics, and selected figures in the history of philosophy. “What have I done?”, he is often heard desperately to exclaim in the middle of the night. If he could return in time to a cobwebbed eighteenth-century experimental laboratory, he would ex-Hume the still warm corpses of some late great philosophical minds of the European Enlightenment, and replace the no longer functioning components of his own overwrought central nervous system with galvanically recharged dead smart guy brain plasm.
JOHN V. KARAVITIS CPA, MBA, has reviewed many books in the popular culture and philosophy genre from the solitude of his isolated ivory tower located somewhere in the Chicagoland area. Now, John is on the other side of the fence, and has given life (“It’s ALIVE! It’s ALIVE!”) for the first time to a chapter of his own. If you listen closely, you can hear the footsteps of the town’s philosophers approaching, all bearing torches, quite eager to let John know just how much they appreciate his reviews.
CHRISTOPHER KETCHAM is Visiting Assistant Professor at The University of Houston Downtown School of Business, specializing in risk management. After several abortive attempts, he has been unable to create a viable succession plan for the Victor Frankenstein and Sons family business even though the franchise value of the family name remains strong.
SKYLER KING is currently studying English and Philosophy at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He has written chapters for various books on popular culture and philosophy. After studying Frankenstein for a few years, he discovered a secret formula that transforms knowledge into an accessible liquid form and he plans to plead with the White House to drink this Vial of Ultimate Knowledge.
DANIEL KOKOTZ is a doctoral candidate at the Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany. While he is working on the philosophical problems of anti-aging enhancement by day, he spends his nights patrolling the local cemetery to prevent the bodies from being stolen by eager scientists. Unfortunately, in spite of his efforts, some have gone missing lately.
MIKE KUGLER has a PhD from the University of Chicago and teaches modern European history at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. Who says he doesn’t carefully cultivate his students? He has the parts to prove it.
GREG LITTMANN is a head on a plate and is Associate Professor of Philosophy at SIUE. It publishes on the philosophy of logic and evolutionary epistemology and has written over twenty chapters for volumes relating philosophy to pop culture, including books on The Big Bang Theory, Breaking Bad, Doctor Who, Planet of the Apes, Sherlock Holmes, and The Walking Dead. If it tells you that it wants to whisper something in your ear, don’t fall for it, because it’s just trying to bite you.
JONATHAN LOPEZ completed his undergraduate degree in Integrated Science with a minor in Philosophy at the University of British Columbia. During this endeavor he has built up a great deal of sympathy for the monster’s feeling of forlornness.
MICHAEL MENDELSON is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Lehigh University. He spends far too much time watching the Universal Studios Frankenstein films. He is also preoccupied with an approach he refers to as “Philosophical Gothic.” Thus far, no one else has succumbed to this deluded project.
NICOLAS MICHAUD teaches as Florida State College, Jacksonville. He has dedicated his life to the work of Dr. Frankenstein and now believes he has discovered the secret to immortality, which he is willing to sell for a low, low price . . . really.
CAROLINE MOSSER is a PhD student in comparative literature at the University of South Carolina. She is an incorrigible hoarder of Frankenstein paraphernalia.
SPYROS PETROUNAKOS studied Philosophy at the University of London. He is a freelance editor, writer, and translator based in Athens, Greece. He thinks that Mary Shelley would have been delighted to know that Frankie went to Hollywood.
JANELLE PÖTZCH holds a degree in philosophy and English and works at the Institute of Philosophy I at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany. She is close to completing her PhD thesis on applied ethics, and is just waiting for the powerful thunderstorm which will enable her to bring it to life.
TRIP MCCROSSIN teaches in the Philosophy Department at Rutgers University, where he works on, among other things, the nature, history, and legacy of the Enlightenment and of its version of the problem of evil. The present essay is part of a broader effort to view literary works and traditions such as Shelley’s through the lens of Neiman’s understanding of the same. He lived for much of his adolescence in Lutry, just a little ways down the coast of Lac Léman from the Frankenstein home in Geneva, though, as far as he knows, brought no monsters into being during that time.
WILLIAM RODRIGUEZ, worked on his PhD at the Florida State University in the areas of Religious and Philosophical Ethics. H
e teaches applied ethics at Bethune-Cookman University, specializing in bioethics, war and peace, economics, religion and violence, and science and religion. His fascination with the horror genre began as a child when he would watch Creature Features. It was here that he was exposed to the Universal monsters, Hammer Studios monsters, and countless other horrifying creatures of the night.
JOE SLATER is a creature of the night who lurks in the alleys and taverns of St Andrews. When not scaring women and children, he likes to dabble in ethical theories.
LUCA TAMBOLO completed his PhD at the University of Trieste in 2008. Among other things, he published a book on the philosophy of Paul Feyerabend. Just like the young Victor Frankenstein, he strives to become ridiculously famous one day.
PETER D. ZUK is a graduate student in philosophy at Rice University. His research interests include metaphysics, moral philosophy, philosophy of mind, early modern philosophy, and the weighty existential implications of bestowing the gift of life upon the dead.
Bits and Pieces
absolutism, 118–122, 124, 180, 188, 218, 258, 278
Adam and Eve, 5, 27, 277
Allen, Woody: on immortality, 42
afterlife, 75, 144, 273
anti-natalism, 261, 262, 271, 272
Arkin, Ronald: and robotics 128
the artificial, 49, 53, 54, 55, 107, 121, 187, 188, 190, 191
artificial life, 15, 17, 18, 25, 26, 28
artificial intelligence, 25, 127, 160, 190
Aristotle: and happiness, 13; and metaphysics, 51
aesthetic, 281, 283, 288–290; and aesthetic theory of virtue, 282
Bauman, Zygmunt: and modernity, 167, 168
Bayle, Pierre: Historical and Critical Dictionary, 276
Benatar, David: anti-natalism, 262, 270, 271
Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence (Benatar), 262
bioconservatives, 250, 251, 258
bioprogressives, 250, 251
biotechnology, 21, 23, 50, 54, 55, 249
Bostrom, Nick: transhumanism, 3
Branagh, Kenneth: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), 82, 214, 281, 283–87, 289, 290
Bride of Frankenstein (1935), 4, 12, 32, 172, 214, 268, 274
Brooks, Mel: Young Frankenstein (1974), 44
Brooks, Rodney: futurism, 127
Buchanan, Allan E.: biomedical enhancement 254, 256, 258
Burton, Tim: Frankenweenie, 21, 23, 165, 171, 172
Byron, Lord George, 42, 210
capabilities approach, 160, 161
capitalism, 82–85, 87–89, 192, 222, 224
Candide (Voltaire), 278
Chalmers, David: and dualism, 139
Churchland, Patricia: physicalism, 138, 139
Christianity, 73, 122, 141, 212, 215
Clive, Colin: and Frankenstein (1931), 3
Clerval, Henry, 29, 30, 34, 112, 129, 130, 211, 233, 240, 241, 245, 286
cognitive development, 120
communism, 84, 85
compatibilism, 96, 97; see also free will
Communist Manifesto (Marx and Engels), 82
communitarianism, 209, 257
The Concept of Mind (Ryle), 184
consciousness, 42, 138, 152–54, 157, 176, 191, 290; and free will, 93, 96
cyborgs, 127, 192, 193
de Grey, Aubrey: and anti-ageism, 3
Darwin, Charles, 49
Darwin, Erasmus: naturalism, 49
the De Laceys (characters in Frankenstein), 31, 32, 82, 98, 99, 178, 181, 182, 184, 185, 189, 190, 191, 113, 128, 233, 277, 279
Descartes, René: metaphor 52; dualism 139; picture of the mind, 177, 179, 180, 181, 183, 184, 185
Derrida, Jacques: labels, 238, 242–44; monsters, 246
determinism, 96, 97; see also free will
Devil, 7, 9, 27, 32, 80, 241
Dippel, Konrad, 257
Dracula, Count, 31, 32,
dualism, 139, 140, 141, 143, 170
Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 (Marx), 81, 221
ecofeminism, 217, 218, 224
Émile (Rousseau), 106, 109, 111, 278
enhancement, 61, 63, 65, 66, 67, 187, 207, 249, 251, 253; biomedical, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 256, 258, 259
The Enlightenment, 94, 105, 113, 114, 219, 276
Engels, Friedrich: and communism, 82; and science and technology, 222–24
Epicurus: and death, 10
essentialism, 53
eternal life, 8, 10, 11, 13, 37, 39, 60
eugenics, 17, 18, 23, 49, 251, 253; see also liberal eugenics
Evidence of the Afterlife, 144, 145
evil, 276; see also morality
Frankenfood, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55–58
Frankenstein: 1931 movie, 3, 6, 32, 175, 200, 207, 222, 274; Agent of S.H.A.D.E., 20; Mary Shelley’s (see also Branagh), 81, 161, 214
Frankenstein, Henry, 197, 198, 199, 201, 202, 203, 204
The Frankenstein Theory (2013), 274
Frankenweenie, 21, 161, 170, 171, 172,
free will, 94, 95, 96, 97, 153, 132, 233, 251, 252, 255
Freud, Sigmund: the uncanny, 231, 232
futurism, 127
The Gay Science (Nietzsche), 73
Galvani, Luigi, 49, 126; and naturalism, 49
Galton, Francis: and naturalism, 49
Garden of Eden, 5, 7, 8, 278, 283
Genesis, 5, 53, 212
genetic engineering, 171, 207, 208, 249, 250–58, 271; see also genetic modification
genetic modification, 40, 50–57, 171, 207, 208, 249, 250–58; see also genetic engineering
The German Ideology (Marx and Engels), 85, 222
God, 4–9, 12, 13, 26, 31, 35, 39, 40, 43, 73, 138, 139, 143, 160, 188, 220, 217, 278; and the problem of evil, 273, 276; as creator, 122, 125, 126, 137, 230, 275, 277; death of, 73; playing, 252, 261; rejection, of 71, 72, 74, 115
Godwin, William, 31, 43, 44, 209; see also Shelley, Mary, family
Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), 274
Greek gods, 9, 26, 30, 43, 72
Grevioux, Kevin: I, Frankenstein, 214, 275
Habermas, Jürgen: against liberal eugenics, 16–19, 21, 23; and anti-Semitism, 231
Halberstam, Judith: definition of “monster,” 191
Harris, John: and transhumanism, 3
Haraway, Donna: and cyborgs, 192
the Harm Premise: and anti-natalism, 263–65, 267–69, 271, 272
Honderich, Ted: and free will, 96, 97
humanism, 99, 100, 103, 187, 193, 223
I, Frankenstein, 7, 155, 157, 158, 161, 162, 175, 214, 272, 274
Igor, 45, 222
immortality, 3, 5, 22, 23, 37, 42, 114, 166, 208, 218, 250, 258, 259
impossibilism, 97; see also free will
instrumental value, 233–35
Job: problem of evil, 273, 276, 277, 278
Karloff, Boris, 7, 262
Kant, Immanuel: moral responsibility, 93; on personhood, 157, 158
King, Stephen, 26
Koontz, Dean: Frankenstein novels, 249, 250–53, 255–59, 274, 275
Kripke, Saul: definitions, 53
Kurzweil, Ray: and futurism, 127
Lanchester, Elsa: Bride of Frankenstein, 4
Language, 7, 34, 45, 51, 99, 107, 110, 137, 158, 162, 178, 181–83, 189, 190, 220, 233, 241, 244; and learning, 63, 151, 183, 189, 233
Lavenza, Elizabeth, 27, 30, 108, 112, 113, 130, 140, 211, 215, 233, 238, 245, 285
Lenin, Vladimir: and capitalism, 89
Lewis, Paul: and Frankenfood, 49
liberal eugenics, 17, 18, 23, 251, 253
libertarianism, 96; see also free will
life: according to Hanna Arendt, 21; and creating, 25, 26, 59, 68, 175, 242, 270; eternal, 8, 10, 11, 13, 37, 39, 60, 240; form, 16, 20, 21, 22, 257, 264; span, 107, 249, 249
Long, Jeffrey: and the afterlife, 144
Lord of the Rings, 207
Lovecraft, H.P., 33
Lucifer, 9; see also Satan
&n
bsp; Marx, Karl H.: capitalism, 81–89; technology, 217, 221–24
Marxism: and capitalism, 89; and technology, 217, 221, 224
Maslow, Abraham: hierarchy of needs, 118, 119
McGinn, Colin: and consciousness, 176; and morality, 282–84
Merchant, Carolyn: and ecofeminism, 219
metaphor, 49, 50, 51–53, 55–58, 183, 224
metaphysics, 51, 57, 200, 203
Midas Problem, 65–67
Mies, Maria: the structure of civilization, 218
Mill, John Stuart, 62; On Liberty, 269
Milton, John: Paradise Lost, 32, 261
mimesis, 281
modernity, 167, 168, 173, 277
Moore, G.E.: and skepticism, 270
morality, 16, 21, 44, 63, 82, 121, 122–24, 188, 291, 250, 253, 255, 258, 259, 278, 281, 282, 288
moral responsibility, 93–103, 117, 119, 120, 122, 125, 179
Moravec, Hans: and futurism, 127
More, Max: and transhumanism, 3, 9
More, Thomas, 19
Murphy, Nancey: and physicalism, 139
mythos, 37, 39, 42, 212
natural evils, 276
Nieman, Susan: and modernity, 277
Nietzsche, Friedrich: and Zarathustra, 71–74, 78, 79; and morality, 122, 123; Beyond Good and Evil, 245
Nussbaum, Martha: and the capabilities approach, 160, 161, 162
optimism: and faith in science, 39, 276, 277
original sin. 108
Otherness, 154, 156, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 184, 187–194, 203–05, 219, 220, 242, 244, 246, 253
Paradise Lost (Milton), 32, 133, 151, 158, 213, 229, 261, 273, 276, 277
Pecora, Vincent P.: anti-Semitism, 231
Pepperell, Robert: The Posthuman Condition, 191
personhood, 152, 153, 156, 159, 160, 163, 164, 214, 233; criteria of, 153–154
Philosophical Investigations (Wittgenstein), 45
physicalism, 138, 139, 141, 142
Piaget, Jean 120; see also cognitive development
Plantinga, Alvin: and dualism, 139, 141, 143–45
Plato: and dualism, 22; The Republic, 139, 165, 167, 167; and art, 281, 282; see also mimesis
Frankenstein and Philosophy Page 31