Acknowledgments: Legacy of the Force ix Introduction: "The Circle is Now Complete" 1 I The Philosophical Menace 5 1 The Platonic Paradox of Darth Plagueis: How Could a Sith Lord Be Wise? 7 Terrance MacMullan 2 "You Are Asking Me to Be Rational": Stoic Philosophy and the Jedi Order 20 Matt Hummel 3 The Jedi Knights of Faith: Anakin, Luke, and Søren (Kierkegaard) 31 William A. Lindenmuth 4 Anakin and Achilles: Scars of Nihilism 42 Don Adams 5 Dark Times: The End of the Republic and the Beginning of Chinese Philosophy 53 Kevin S. Decker II Attack of the Morals 65 6 Chasing Kevin Smith: Was It Immoral for the Rebel Alliance to Destroy Death Star II? 67 Charles C. Camosy 7 The Ballad of Boba Fett: Mercenary Agency and Amoralism in War 79 David LaRocca 8 How Guilty is Jar Jar Binks? 90 Nicolas Michaud 9 "Know the Dark Side": A Theodicy of the Force 100 Jason T. Eberl III Revenge of the Alliance 115 10 "Like My Father before Me": Loss and Redemption of Fatherhood in Star Wars 117 Charles Taliaferro and Annika Beck 11 The Friends of a Jedi: Friendship, Family, and Civic Duty in a Galaxy at War 127 Greg Littmann 12 Light Side, Dark Side, and Switching Sides: Loyalty and Betrayal in Star Wars 136 Daniel Malloy 13 Guardians and Tyrants in the Republics of Star Wars and Plato 148 Adam Barkman and Kyle Alkema IV A New Hermeneutic 159 14 Pregnant Padme and Slave Leia: ´ Star Wars' Female Role Models 161 Cole Bowman 15 Docile Bodies and a Viscous Force: Fear of the Flesh in Return of the Jedi 172 Jennifer L. McMahon 16 Of Battle Droids and Zillo Beasts: Moral Status in the Star Wars Galaxy 183 James M. Okapal V Metaphysics Strikes Back 193 17 Why the Force Must Have a Dark Side 195 George A. Dunn 18 What is It Like to Be a Jedi? A Life in the Force 208 Marek McGann 19 "Never Tell Me the Odds": An Inquiry Concerning Jedi Understanding 219 Andrew Zimmerman Jones VI Return of the Non-Human 229 20 Mindless Philosophers and Overweight Globs of Grease: Are Droids Capable of Thought? 231 Dan Burkett 21 Can Chewie Speak? Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Language 240 Rhiannon Grant and Myfanwy Reynolds 22 Can the Zillo Beast Strike Back? Cloning, De-extinction, and the Species Problem 250 Leonard Finkelman VII The Fandom Awakens 261 23 "In That Time .
" in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Epic Myth-Understandings and Myth-Appropriation in Star Wars 263 John Thompson 24 Star Wars, Emotions, and the Paradox of Fiction 274 Lance Belluomini 25 The Mind of Blue Snaggletooth: The Intentional Stance, Vintage Star Wars Action Figures, and the Origins of Religion 287 Dennis Knepp 26 Gospel, Gossip, and Ghent: How Should We Understand the New Star Wars? 296 Roy T. Cook and Nathan Kellen Contributors: Troopers of the 501st Legion 308 Index 317.