Finding Ourselves at the Movies

November 15, 2013

Kahn (Robert W. Winner Professor of Law and Humanities; director, Orville H. Schell Jr. Ctr. for Human Rights, Yale Law Sch.; Sacred Violence: Torture, Terror, and Sovereignty) explains that this book will strike some readers as neither philosophy nor film studies; these are academic disciplines, and his intended audience is broader. He contends that philosophy has become a rigorous discipline aimed at a small academic audience but that it ought to be for everyone. Thus Kahn proposes a new method that he believes captures the feel of early dialogs, holding Plato's Euthyphro as an example. Traditional philosophy is concerned with truth, but Kahn conceives of the discipline as involving thinking critically and exercising one's imagination. He does not intend to answer problems about action, knowledge, or free will. Because philosophy requires a common topic to examine, Kahn turns to films, as they are easily accessible and interpreted. VERDICT A philosophic text for nonacademics that encourages critical reflection on popular films is a worthy goal; however, Kahn's execution reads as a work that mixes amateur philosophy and amateur film studies and lacks the clarity found in either discipline. Not recommended.--William Simkulet, Andover, KS

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