Anupama A. P.

Space is infinitely interesting! Space has both scientific and cultural currency because it has captured the imagination of human beings from ancient times until today. What seemed like science fiction centuries and only decades ago, is now science fact. Technological developments present and on the cusp are putting more and more of space into our hands. That is both exciting and frightening at the same time (think Lovecraft)! This book attempts to speak to the philosophical and ethical issues raised by space. Who owns space? Who should pay for space exploration and what is the impact on human beings on earth today? What happens if we’re not alone in the universe? What is the value and meaning of space exploration? What are the ethical implications of AI and Technology in relation to space exploration (what if they get away from us?!)? Questions! Questions! Questions! The Call for Chapters for this book Space, Philosophy and Ethics read: “For space science people, this conference is a platform to discuss the subconscious philosophical and ethical implications of their research that have been in the back of their minds while researching. For philosophers and non-specialists, it is an opportunity to learn together and struggle to find solutions for the philosophical and ethical quandaries that space science, exploration and technology present to humanity”. The approaches to space seem endless. Physics, as Aristotle discovered, inevitably leads to metaphysics, and metaphysics always have ethical concerns. The book loosely follows this outline. It begins and ends with the metaphysical implications of space, the spiritual, if you will. It leads with poetry. That seems appropriate since while we may ask many questions regarding space, we are likely to find very few answers. Then the book briefly looks at the ethical implications of AI and Technology for space exploration. There are chapters that deal with the material ethics of space commerce and ontology. Telos and Axiology (Value) are also explored. This book hopes to facilitate human struggle with the ethical implications of space rather than presuming to solve all its problems.

Anime is exploding on the worldwide stage! Anime has been a staple in Japan for decades, strongly connected to manga. So why has anime become a worldwide sensation? A cursory explanation is the explosion of online streaming services specializing in anime, like Funimation and Crunchyroll. Even more general streaming services like Netflix and Amazon have gotten in on the game. Anime is exotic to Western eyes and culture. That is one of the reasons anime has gained worldwide popularity. This strange aesthetic draws the audience in only to find it is deeper and more sophisticated than its surface appearance. Japan is an honor and shame culture. Anime provides a platform to discuss “universal” problems facing human beings. It does so in an amazing variety of ways and subgenres, and often with a sense of humor. The themes, characters, stories, plotlines, and development are often complex. This makes anime a deep well of philosophical, metaphysical, and religious ideas for analysis. International scholars are represented in this book. There is a diversity of perspectives on a diversity of anime, themes, content, and analysis. It hopes to delve deeper into the complex world of anime and demonstrate why it deserves the respect of scholars and the public alike.

Hollywood is a $40 billion annual business, one that is highly influential in culture. If we want to know who we are as individuals and a society, what we believe and what we value, we need to know and understand Hollywood and film. Make no mistake, Hollywood is neither philosophically, politically, nor morally neutral! Many studies demonstrate how movies “affect” us long before we have thought it through. In other words, Hollywood “smuggles” all kinds of ideas into our minds and hearts without us even knowing it. While Hollywood may be the biggest and most influential in the world, this book will demonstrate the growing international influence of film from India (Bollywood), Nigeria (Nollywood), Zimbabwe (Zollywood) and Yesilçam (Turkey). 'Film, Philosophy and Religion' explicitly and implicitly takes a philosophical approach to analyzing film theoretically and methodologically. There are topic and film-specific chapters that take a theological approach, and others that explore ideas like Affect, Axiology, Art Reflecting the Artist and Transcendence (Spirituality) of Film. Hermeneutics also have a central role in the book, including films based on biblical texts that act as interpretations of these texts and fill in the blanks (albeit speculatively by way of script and directors). Chapters also explore the philosophy of aesthetics and film realism which end with theology, while other chapters explore the incompatibility of science with religion, as well as a chapter on the timely topic of rape in Turkish film. The book’s scope goes from the “Horror of Evil in Ridley Scott’s Alien Universe” to “Love Can Thaw a Frozen Heart: The Philosophy of Love in the Frozen Films” (Disney Princess Narratives). This book represents international films and scholars. The diverse perspectives from theist to atheist—and everything in-between—are sure to spark thinking and generate talking points that provide something for everyone in an accessible format. It will be of great interest to university students and professors, scholars, seminaries, and the general public.