Breaking Bad and Philosophy: Badder Living through Chemistry (Popular Culture and Philosophy) Paperback – July 10, 2012

Unless you are a failed philosopy major, aren't a Breaking Bad fan, or have a serious vendetta against Open Court, you can't help but enjoy this stimulating collection of essays. Used to be the word Philosophy would numb most laymen. How wonderful that philosophy has breached the ivory tower and is now a discipline accesible to all. Questions about choices, about health and mortal illness, about responsibility, about good and evil, all central issues in Breaking Bad are discussed and analyzed from different points of view and with some different conclusions. But each essay inspires us to really THINK instead of simply watch. The whole experience of reading this book and the other Philosophy and Popular culture series is that of having a great conversation at the end of a really good movie. Do people do that anymore? Well worth buying, reading and discussing.

After binge watching Breaking Bad, I could not stop thinking about it, long after the length of time I actually spent watching it. It was not merely that the show was very good (actually, it was great) or that the acting was that good (though it was) or that it made me nostalgic about my visits to the Southwest (though it did). It was not even that the show was intelligent. It was that the show made a person genuinely think about some difficult philosophical issues.Was Walter White always bad, with that malignancy just waiting for an outlet to emerge, or was he genuinely a good person who truly changed? When does a hero morph into an anti-hero and then morph into a villain? What do we make of our society that continued to cheer him on anyway, even after the line to villainy had clearly been crossed?Hardly a surprise that the Popular Culture and Philosophy series got a hold of it, and they do a pretty good job with it. Broken down into nineteen chapters over seven different sections, BREAKING BAD AND PHILOSOPHY explores these questions a bit, and a few more.As with all books in this series, a reader has to sacrifice depth for volume and breadth, with each essay being relatively short. Also as with other books, the essays vary in quality. Still, this book is a good one. My only substantive complaint (besides the inclusion of the obligatory feminist essay about . . . Oh Good Lord, you already know how it goes) is the absence of any essay focusing on Saul and his interesting approach to the practice of law.One final word, the book came out after Season 4, so that some issues in the air at the time of publication have subsequently been answered, or even taken a different direction. With that caveat, this is still a better way to spend one’s money than a visit to Wendy at the Crystal Palace.

Simple, yet excellent book which explores the moral and philosophical interpretations of Walter White's actions in the Breaking Bad saga. A must for the series' fans.

I highly enjoyed this book and it's different views from multiple people.Loved the show.. Loved the book. A must read if your a breaking bad fan

It's a boring book, but it's for school so it works just fine. I recommend it to anyone taking a into to philosophy class.

This is the best series I have ever encountered - depth of character, twist of plot, questioning of motives in life....

This book contains an collection of thoughtful essays exploring various aspects of the "philosophy of breaking bad." I do, however, wish to offer two suggestions or criticisms to the editors the book: (1) the book published after the fourth season (but before the show's fifth and final season), so a second edition of this anthology, one including essays covering the show's final season, would be welcome; also, (2) if there is to be a second edition, then it would be helpful to include references and footnotes for scholarly readers.

Are we all on the verge of "Breaking Bad?" Philosophy has a way of making you see things in many different ways. It seems that your world isn't as settled as you think it is. If you loved the series you will enjoy this book.