U2 and Philosophy: How to Decipher an Atomic Band (Popular Culture and Philosophy Book 21)

Is it possible to be a committed Christian and a rock superstar? Can political activists make good music? Do hugely successful rock bands really care about AIDS and poverty in Africa, or is it just another image-enhancing schtick? U2 and Philosophy ponders these and other seeming dichotomies in the career of the Irish supergroup. For over two decades, U2 has been one of the biggest acts in rock music. They've produced over a dozen platinum and multiplatinum records and won 15 Grammy Awards. Critics everywhere have praised the band's thoughtful, complex lyrics and the artistry of their music. At the same time, Bono, the group's lead singer, has dedicated himself to political and social causes, blurring the line between rock star and respected statesman. Offering fresh insight into the band's music and activism, these thought-provoking essays allows fans to discover philosophy through the eyes of U2, and rediscover U2 through the eyes of philosophers. Contents Acknowledgments viii Thinking about U2 ix PART I See the World in Green and Blue: U2 and the Philosophy of Existence 1 1. “We Can Be One”: Love and Platonic Transcendence in U2 MARINA BERZINS McCOY 3 2. Staring at the Sun: U2 and the Experience of Kierkegaardian Despair HUBERT L. DREYFUS and MARK A. WRATHALL 15 3. “If You Want to Kiss the Sky, Better Learn How to Kneel”: Existential Christianity in U2 MARK A. WRATHALL 25 4. Philosophizing Place in The Joshua TreeJ EFF MALPAS 43 5. The Importance of Being Bono: The Philosophy and Politics of Identity in the Lyrics and Personae of U2’s Frontman KERRY SOPER 55 6. “Even Better than the Real Thing”? Postmodernity, the Triumph of the Simulacra, and U2 IAIN THOMSON 73 PART II Don’t Mean to Bug Ya The Philosophical Basis of U2’s Ethics and Politics 97 7. U2 and the Problem of Evil TRENTON MERRICKS 99 8. U2, Feminism, and Ethics of Care JENNIFER MCCLINTON-TEMPLE and ABIGAIL MYERS 109 9. Why Listen to U2? CRAIG DELANCEY 123 10. “Until the End of the World”: U2, Eschatology, and Heidegger’s “Being-toward-Death” V.S. BENFELL III 135 PART III Three Chords and the Truth Meaning, Knowledge, and the Power of Music 147 11. “This Music Changed the Shape of the World”: U2 and the Phenomenological Understanding of Music BÉATRICE HAN-PILE 149 12. To Find a Song that I Can Sing: What Philosophy of Language Can Tell Us about Popular Success THEODORE GRACYK 163 13. “What You Don’t Know, You Can Feel It Somehow”: Knowledge, Feeling, and Revelation in U2 TIMOTHY CLEVELAND 177 14. The Ancient Quarrel between Philosophy and Poetry: U2 and Trash CHRIS TOLLEFSEN 189 15. Aristotle, U2, and the Abolition of Man: “A Feeling Is So Much Stronger than a Thought” DAVID WERTHER 201 U2 Albums 213 U2 Grammy Awards 214 U2 Internet Resources 216 Author Profiles 217 Index 221 "A collection of essays about the rock band U2 and lead singer Bono focusing on philosophical and ethical aspects of their music and political activities"--Provided by publisher