The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer

Having lasted over fifteen years in the flavor-of-the-month-seeking world of television and overcome the objections of every idiot who dismissed it as lowbrow, The Simpsons has by now earned the status of an American institution, right up there with baseball, apple pie, and lying politicians. With its enormous cast and the freedom that comes from its animated format, The Simpsons has become sort of a funhouse mirror for us all, reflecting and distorting the stupidity, shallow thinking, and hyprocrisy that are and probably always have been a part of everyday life. Making constant use of irony, allusion, and satire, The Simpsons has also garnered from some the title of TV's smartest show, a claim I'd have a hard time disputing. It's one of the few shows that give its audience some credit, assuming they have a basic grasp of history and literature and can grasp a joke that doesn't involve bodily functions or ethnic stereotypes.

So, you might ask, what does this long-winded introduction have to do with anything? Well, it helps to explain why a bunch of professional philosphers saw fit to give The Simpsons its own philosophy book, entitled, appropriately enough, The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer. Just in case you had any doubts about how many levels The Simpsons actually functions on, this book should put them to rest. The Simpsons and Philosophy is an expansive, comprehensive collection of (generally) highly accessible essays written by philosophy professors trying to use their love and knowledge of the Simpsons to introduce the show's viewers to some of the basic elements of philosophical inquiry. The editors state flat out that they're not out to analyze the philosophical messages (if any) of Matt Groening & Co., but to use their discussions of the Simpsons as a springboard to get readers to delve deeper into philosophy themselves.

On that level at least, the book is certainly a success. These essays are consistently fascinating, connecting the show's messages to the thought of such heavyweights as Heidegger, Marx, Aristotle, Neitzsche, and Kant. If you're a philosophical type, and you've been an enthusiastic Simpons-phile for as long as I have (I still have memories of watching the premiere of the first episode back when I was a lad of ten), you've probably watched most of the episodes so many times that you can dissect them at will, but this book still provides some nice reminders of why the show is so funny and holds up so well to repeated viewings.

The show's much-discussed satirical edge naturally gets a great deal of attention here, but the book attempts to go deeper in examining the messages the show sends out. For example, one particularly interesting essay, Paul A. Cantor's The Simpsons: Atomistic Politics and the Nuclear Family, raises a point that proves indisputable whether you've noticed it or not: even as the Simpsons relentlessly parodies every dearly held institution under the sun, from the family to government to religion, it constantly reaffirms their primacy in American life. In a time of ever-increasing centralization and standardization, this essay argues, The Simpsons manages to remind people of the importance of the family and of local institutions. Another highlight, James Wallace's A (Karl, not Groucho) Marxist in Springfield, takes that claim in an even bolder direction, arguing that The Simpsons's scattershot, equal-opportunity approach dulls its satirical effect and makes it just another perpetuator of the status quo of consumerism and exploitation. You don't have to be a Marxist (I'm certainly not) to see his point.

There's a lot more where that came from, as well. Citing tons of specific examples, other highlights include discussions of what the show has to tell us about the Kantian notion of the moral life; what Mr. Burns has to tell us about the nature of happiness; how Lisa's experiences exemplify contemporary America's ambivalent attitudes toward intellectuals; whether Bart is a Nietzshcean overman; and just how ironic The Simpsons actually is. As you may have gathered from the foregoing (woefully incomplete) list, The Simpsons and Philosophy hardly limits its scope to philosophy itself; instead it's a thoroughgoing examination not just of how The Simpsons reflects certain philosophical themes but of how it mirrors the time, place, and culture in which we live. In other words, this book is far more than a dry philosophical inquiry; it's a cultural document in its own right, using the Funniest Show Ever to further illuminate the aspects of society that The Simpsons so sharply lampoons. Needless to say, all Simpsons fanatics should check it out.

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