Dexter and Philosophy: Mind over Spatter (Popular Culture and Philosophy (58))

What explains the huge popular following for Dexter, currently the most-watched show on cable, which sympathetically depicts a serial killer driven by a cruel compulsion to brutally slay one victim after another? Although Dexter Morgan kills only killers, he is not a vigilante animated by a sense of justice but a charming psychopath animated by a lust to kill, ritualistically and bloodily. However his gory appetite is controlled by “Harry’s Code,” which limits his victims to those who have gotten away with murder, and his job as a blood spatter expert for the Miami police department gives him the inside track on just who those legitimate targets may be. In Dexter and Philosophy, an elite team of philosophers don their rubber gloves and put Dexter’s deeds under the microscope. Since Dexter is driven to ritual murder by his “Dark Passenger,” can he be blamed for killing, especially as he only murders other murderers? Does Dexter fit the profile of the familiar fictional type of the superhero? What part does luck play in making Dexter who he is? How and why are horror and disgust turned into aesthetic pleasure for the TV viewer? How essential is Dexter’s emotional coldness to his lust for slicing people up? Are Dexter’s lies and deceptions any worse than the lies and deceptions of the non-criminals around him? Why does Dexter long to be a normal human being and why can’t he accomplish this apparently simple goal? Know Thyself? / GEORGE A. REISCH Body Part I : Maiming and Necessity. The Killing Joke / JOHN KENNETH MUIR Dexter's Pointy Ears? / ABROL FAIRWEATHER Dearly Damaged Dexter / DANIEL HAAS Can We Blame a Man with No Choice? / NICOLAS MICHAUD What Dexter Doesn't Know Can Hurt You / RACHEL ROBISON-GREENE Dexter the Self-Interpreting Animal / BRIAN GREGOR Is Dexter Practically Perfect in Every Way? / RICHARD GREENE Body Part II : The Cut of Dexter's Jib. Dexter's Mirror / JERRY S. PIVEN A Very Special Kind of Monster / AARON C. ANDERSON The Sublime Dexter / PATRICIA BRACE Dexter's Specimens / JASON DAVIS Body Part III : What Would Dexter Do? Pathetic Rule Follower or Vigilante Hero? / M. CARMELA EPRIGHT and SARAH E. WORTH Deontology in Dahmerland / SARA WALLER and SEAN MCALEER Best of Luck, Dexter! / DANIEL P. MALLOY Why Kill or Not Kill? That Is the Question / SULTAN AHMED Body Part IV : Sex, Race, and Bad Behavior. The Discipline of Dexter's Punishment / ERIC HOLMES Dexter the Busy Bee / DAVID RAMSAY STEELE You Hurt Her, You Hurt Me / EVERITT FOSTER Dexter's Whiteness / EWAN KIRKLAND Happiness, Dexter Style / MIKE PIERO Body Part V : Dexter and His Ancestors. Dexter Unmasked / DEBORAH MELLAMPHY Neither Man nor Beast / PHILLIP DEEN Dexter SPQR / JAMES F. PONTUSO Dexter's Look / REBECCA STEINER GOLDNER Safe Dex / DAVID RAMSAY STEELE. In American Horror Story and Philosophy, philosophers with varying backgrounds and interests explore different aspects of this popular “erotic thriller” TV show, with its enthusiastic cult following and strong critical approval. The result is a collection of intriguing and provocative thoughts on deeper questions prompted by the creepy side of the human imagination