Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy: The Footprints of a Gigantic Mind (Popular Culture and Philosophy Book 61)

This entertaining collection of essays shows that Sherlock Holmes sees things others don't. He sees the world in a different way, and by so doing, allows us to see that same world – and human behavior – in different ways as well. Oh, sure, there have been countless detectives who have followed in his footsteps and who seem to rival his abilities. Just turn on the TV or browse the local bookshop and you'll find idiosyncratic super sleuths using forensics and reasoning to solve a whole host of crimes and misdeeds. And yet no one rivals our dear, dear Holmes. Why does Sherlock reign, even more than a century later, as king? Can this mystery be solved? Unable to reach either Holmes or Watson (or Doyle for that matter, though we've tried every medium we can think of), we've been forced to gather our own team of investigators to practice their powers of observation and perception, to apply their own reasoning and methodologies to the task at hand. The results, I fear, have led us to a number of cases that must be solved first. Is Holmes simply eccentric or a sociopath? Is he human or something from the holodeck? Is he as dangerous on the page as he is in person? Wait – does he even exist? For that matter, do you? (I fear several investigators have been forced to take a much needed holiday after wrestling with that one.) What is the source of his faculty of observation and facility for deduction? Systematic training as Watson surmises? Genetic? Or is he just really lucky? And is this whole logic thing compatible with emotions? Are Holmes and Watson good friends or soul mates? Just what is the nature of friendship? Do they complete each other or just get on each other's nerves? And why all the secrecy? Disguises? Deceptions? The plot thickens. What is the essence of consciousness? Is the observable world subject to our intentions? Why does Holmes debunk mysticism when Doyle so readily embraces it? Why is Holmes our favorite drug user? Our notebooks are filled with clues and, dare I say, answers. Is there more than one way to define the concept, justice? Is hope necessary in the world? Is boredom? Play? Can any thing really be understood? Objectively? And just what is the last unresolved mystery involving Sherlock Holmes? The game that's afoot isn't just the thing being pursued but the fun to be had as well. Contents An Extraordinary Genius for Minutiae 1 A Sherlockian Scandal in Philosophy 2 Calculating Humanity 3 Is Holmes Really Just Lucky? 4 The Adventure of the Candle and the Dumbbell 5 Action Man or Dreamy Detective A Dog Reflects the Family Life 6 From the Mean Streets to Baker Street 7 The Mystery of the Horrible Hound 8 The Case of the Dangerous Detective 9 I Suppose I Shall Have to Compound a Felony as Usual 10 The Game Has Virtually Stumbled 11 The Curious Case of the Controversial Canon I Think You Might Want a Little Unofficial Help 12 How Marriage Changed Sherlock Holmes 13 A Study in Friendship 14 Out of House and Holmes 15 A Feminist Scandal in Holmes’s Generalizations There Are Unexplored Possibilities in You 16 The Many Faces of Deception 17 Watson’s a Liar! 18 Dark Rumors and Hereditary Tendencies 19 A Touch of the Dramatic Holmes Is a Little Scientific for My Tastes 20 Resisting the Siren Song of Rationalism 21 The Thing the Lion Left 22 Where the Most Logical Mind May Be at Fault 23 What Mycroft Knows that Sherlock Doesn’t Music at Strange Hours or that Mixture of Imagination and Reality 24 Why Sherlock Holmes Is My Favorite Drug User 25 Boredom on Baker Street 26 Willful Self-Destruction? 27 Like Some Strange Buddha The Tracing of Footsteps 28 Why Sherlock Is Like a Good Hip-Hop Song 29 Moriarty’s Final Human Problem in Star Trek: The Next Generation 30 The Curious Case of the Dog in Prime Time 31 A Study in Simulacra 32 The Game Is Still Afoot! 33 The Final Final Problem He Is a Man of Habits and I am One of Them The Very Smartest of Our Detective Officers His Ignorance Was As Remarkable as His Knowledge Hullo! Hullo! Good Old Index!