The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
Book cover
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| Author | William Irwin, Mark T. Conard, Aeon J. Skoble |
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| Illustrator | Joan Sommers Design |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Popular Culture and Philosophy (Vol. 2) |
| Subject | Philosophy, The Simpsons |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Open Court |
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Publication date
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February 28, 2001 |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing |
| Followed by | The Matrix and Philosophy |
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer is a non-fiction book analyzing the philosophy and popular culture effects of the American animated sitcom, The Simpsons, published by Open Court. The book is edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J. Skoble, each of whom also wrote one of the eighteen essays in the book.
The book was released on February 28, 2001, as the second volume of Open Court Publishing's Popular Culture and Philosophy series, which currently includes eighty books. The book has gone on to be extremely successful, both in sales and critically, and is also used as a main text in various universities with philosophy courses.
The book includes contributions from eighteen academics in the field of philosophy. Topics included are comparisons of the characters in the show, such as Homer Simpson and Aristotle, or Bart Simpson and Friedrich Nietzsche. The book brings up topics such as why Homer's appeal is universal by arguing that he speaks to fundamental conflicts about what gives human pleasure.
Other topics include the manner in which the show makes philosophical statements, and its opinions on sexuality in politics. Religion is also discussed in the book, such as the guilt Homer feels for not going to church, or Ned Flanders experiencing tragedies, despite following the Bible closely.
The book was highly successful, selling over 203,000 copies, making it the best selling book in the Open Court Publishing's Popular Culture and Philosophy series. The book was also critically successful, highlighting the philosophical themes that the book was able to make with The Simpsons, such as Booklist, who wrote, "[...]these pieces make erudite concepts accessible by viewing things through the lens of a great cartoon series," or Publishers Weekly who wrote, "Fans of The Simpsons are certain to find this book to be the perfect rebuttal for those who dismiss the show as a no-brainer."
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