What does Sartre have to do with cinnamon buns?

Dr. William Irwin is a Professor of Philosophy at King’s College.

Plenty!

William Irwin, Editor of The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, recently wrote an article for The Conversation on “How existentialism can shield us from the free market’s dark side.”

Using existentialist themes of personal freedom and responsibility, Irwin makes the claim that government regulation and social agencies do not need to shield people from the darker lures of products like “diet-killing Cinnabons.”

Irwin’s article for The Conversation is based on his new book, The Free Market Existentialist: Capitalism without Consumerism in which he proposes a new philosophy that is a synthesis of existentialism, amoralism, and libertarianism.

Irwin begins an essential conversation for the 21^st century for students, scholars, and armchair philosophers alike with clear, accessible discussions of a range of topics across philosophy including atheism, evolutionary theory, and ethics

Humorous and poignant, Irwin’s article and book, are both must-reads!

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Click here for more on The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series.

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Antichrist morality

Lars von Trier

A recent article by Christopher Hart in the Mail has criticised Danish director Lars von Trier’s latest film Antichrist as ‘stomach-turning’, ‘revolting’, and ‘sick pretentious filth’. This is the latest in a series of outraged reactions to the film, following alleged fainting at the premiere in Cannes and a lawsuit by Christian organisations in France. Von Trier response did little to calm matters, announcing that he was commanded by God to make the film and is the best director in the world. Whilst all this controversy makes for an entertaining spectacle, and has been nothing but publicity for the film, it also serves to highlight a specifically philosophical issue: the close tie between art and morality.