The Virtues of Captain America : Modern-Day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero

The first look at the philosophy behind the Captain America comics and movies, publishing in advance of the movie release of Captain America: The Winter Solider in April 2014. In The Virtues of Captain America , philosopher and long-time comics fan Mark D. White argues that the core principles, compassion, and judgment exhibited by the 1940's comic book character Captain America remain relevant to the modern world. Simply put, "Cap" embodies many of the classical virtues that have been important to us since the days of the ancient Greeks: honesty, courage, loyalty, perseverance, and, perhaps most importantly, honor. Full of entertaining examples from more than 50 years of comic books, White offers some serious philosophical discussions of everyone's favorite patriot in a light-hearted and accessible way. Presents serious arguments on the virtues of Captain America while being written in a light-hearted and often humorous tone Introduces basic concepts in moral and political philosophy to the general reader Utilizes examples from 50 years of comics featuring Captain America, the Avengers, and other Marvel superheroes Affirms the value of "old-fashioned" virtues for the modern world without indulging in nostalgia for times long passed Reveals the importance of the sound principles that America was founded upon Publishing in advance of Captain America: The Winter Soldier out in April 2014. The Virtues of Captain America: Modern-Day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero 5 Copyright 6 Contents 7 Introduction 9 Acknowledgments 15 Notes on Source Material 16 About the Author 18 1 Superhuman Ethics Class 19 Utilitarianism 20 Deontology 24 A Civil War ... of Ethics! 28 Virtue Ethics 31 Virtuous Deontology ... No, Deontological Virtue ... Maybe “Deontovirtue”? 36 Notes 38 2 Captain America as a Moral Exemplar 43 Can a Fictional Character Be a Moral Exemplar? 44 Aren’t Fictional Characters Liable to Be Perfect? 47 Fifty Years, Dozens of Writers ... One Captain America? 52 Notes 59 3 Five Basic Virtues 63 Courage 64 Humility 68 Righteous Indignation 72 Sacrifice and Responsibility 76 Perseverance 81 Notes 87 4 Honor and Integrity 94 The Honor of Captain America 94 External Honor as Respect 96 Internal Honor as Integrity 103 Principle and Compromise 106 Duty and Sacrifice (Again) 114 Notes 119 5 Judgment 127 Making the Hard Decisions 128 Whose Right Answer? 133 Tragic Dilemmas and How to Avoid Them 136 “Black-and-White” or Red, White, and Blue? When Judgment Evolves 140 Hitting the Threshold 149 Notes 155 6 Principle and Politics 161 Patriotism: The Captain and America 161 Cosmopolitanism 164 The American Dream Versus the American Reality 168 “I’ m a Hero, Not a Politician!” 171 Principle over Politics 174 Captain America in (Principled) Action 179 Secret Empire/Nomad 179 The Captain 181 Civil War 184 Notes 189 7 Can Captain America Help Us Achieve Greater Unity and Civility? 196 The “Divided States of America,” Then and Now 196 The Three Core American Ideals 199 Justice 200 Equality 202 Liberty 204 Debating What We Disagree On While Recognizing What We Share 206 Now It’s Our Turn 211 Notes 212 Appendix: Why are There Seven Volumes of Captain America and Five Volumes of Avengers ? 216 Notes 219 References 220 Notes 238 Index 239 Content: Introduction vii Acknowledgments xiii Notes on Source Material xiv About the Author xvi 1 Superhuman Ethics Class 1 Utilitarianism 2 Deontology 6 A Civil War of Ethics! 10 Virtue Ethics 13 Virtuous Deontology No, Deontological Virtue Maybe Deontovirtue ? 18 2 Captain America as a Moral Exemplar 25 Can a Fictional Character Be a Moral Exemplar? 26 Aren t Fictional Characters Liable to Be Perfect? 29 Fifty Years, Dozens of Writers One Captain America? 34 3 Five Basic Virtues 45 Courage 46 Humility 50 Righteous Indignation 54 Sacrifice and Responsibility 58 Perseverance 63 4 Honor and Integrity 76 The Honor of Captain America 76 External Honor as Respect 78 Internal Honor as Integrity 85 Principle and Compromise 88 Duty and Sacrifice (Again) 96 5 Judgment 109 Making the Hard Decisions 110 Whose Right Answer? 115 Tragic Dilemmas and How to Avoid Them 118 Black-and-White or Red, White, and Blue? When Judgment Evolves 122 Hitting the Threshold 131 6 Principle and Politics 143 Patriotism: The Captain and America 143 Cosmopolitanism 146 The American Dream Versus the American Reality 150 I m a Hero, Not a Politician! 153 Principle over Politics 156 Captain America in (Principled) Action 161 Secret Empire/Nomad 161 The Captain 163 Civil War 166 7 Can Captain America Help Us Achieve Greater Unity and Civility? 178 The Divided States of America, Then and Now 178 The Three Core American Ideals 181 Justice 182 Equality 184 Liberty 186 Debating What We Disagree On While Recognizing What We Share 188 Now It s Our Turn 193 Appendix: Why Are There Seven Volumes of Captain America and Five Volumes of Avengers? 198 References 202 Index 221

The first look at the philosophy behind the Captain America comics and movies, publishing in advance ofthe movierelease of Captain America: The Winter Solider in April 2014.

In The Virtues of Captain America, philosopher and long-time comics fan Mark D. White argues that the core principles, compassion, and judgment exhibited by the 1940's comic book character Captain America remain relevant to the modern world. Simply put, "Cap" embodies many of the classical virtues that have been important to us since the days of the ancient Greeks: honesty, courage, loyalty, perseverance, and, perhaps most importantly, honor. Full of entertaining examples from more than 50 years of comic books, White offers some serious philosophical discussions of everyone's favorite patriot in a light-hearted and accessible way.

• Presents serious arguments on the virtues of Captain America while being written in a light-hearted and often humorous tone
• Introduces basic concepts in moral and political philosophy to the general reader
• Utilizes examples from 50 years of comics featuring Captain America, the Avengers, and other Marvel superheroes
• Affirms the value of "old-fashioned" virtues for the modern world without indulging in nostalgia for times long passed
• Reveals the importance of the sound principles that America was founded upon
• Publishing in advance of Captain America: The Winter Soldier out inApril 2014.

The first look at the philosophy behind the Captain America comics and movies, publishing in advance of the movie release of Captain The Winter Soldier in April 2014. In The Virtues of Captain America , philosopher and long-time comics fan Mark D. White argues that the core principles, compassion, and judgment exhibited by the 1940's comic book character Captain America remain relevant to the modern world. Simply put, "Cap" embodies many of the classical virtues that have been important to us since the days of the ancient honesty, courage, loyalty, perseverance, and, perhaps most importantly, honor. Full of entertaining examples from more than 50 years of comic books, White offers some serious philosophical discussions of everyone's favorite patriot in a light-hearted and accessible way. Presents serious arguments on the virtues of Captain America while being written in a light-hearted and often humorous tone Introduces basic concepts in moral and political philosophy to the general reader Utilizes examples from 50 years of comics featuring Captain America, the Avengers, and other Marvel superheroes Affirms the value of "old-fashioned" virtues for the modern world without indulging in nostalgia for times long passed Reveals the importance of the sound principles that America was founded upon Publishing in advance of Captain The Winter Soldier out in April 2014. Superhuman Ethics Class -- Captain America As A Moral Exemplar -- Five Basic Virtues -- Honor And Integrity -- Judgment -- Principle And Politics -- Can Captain America Help Us Achieve Greater Unity And Civility? Mark D. White. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.