"Aristotle and Socrates. Kant and Descartes. Nietzsche and Sartre. Homer and . . . Marge, Bart, Lisa and baby Maggie.
The Simpsons, believe it or not, now grace the syllabus of at least one course at Cal, one of the country's most prestigious public universities, home to Nobel Prize winners, renowned scientists and more famous authors than there are hemp clothing sellers on Telegraph Avenue.
This two-unit course, called "Simpsons and Philosophy," is part of the university's De-Cal program, student-sponsored initiatives in cooperation with UC Berkeley faculty meant to "broaden the education, and the university experience, of all Cal students."
A word of advice to all of those doubting academic highbrows out there. To quote that animated miscreant Bart Simpson, "Don't have a cow, man!" This actually is an academically rigorous class, not a dumbing down of either philosophy or "The Simpsons."
What "The Simpsons," which recently aired its 300th episode on Fox, represents is nothing less than a glimpse at the complex human condition, how we live now and make our way morally in an often confusing world. At least that's the line you get from Tyler Shores, the English major and student instructor who developed the course after 14 years of avid "Simpsons" watching.
To Shores, the high jinks of this animated dysfunctional family and its friends and neighbors in fictional Springfield can serve as a lesson in relationships for us all. Even if you don't hang out in coffeehouses, arguing the finer points of Hume and Barthes, Shores believes that students and -- heck, even the common folk -- can glean life lessons from a simple cartoon.
"We're trying to make it serious," Shores said. "Students are able to develop their own De-Cal courses for real class credit, and I figured Berkeley students are smart and want something to pique their interest. But they also want something fun because they work so damn hard. So I put the two together. It's a fun but challenging class."
The germ of Shores' brainstorm came in 2001, after he thumbed through a thick paperback at the bookstore called "The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh of Homer," edited by William Irwin (Open Court, $17.95). It serves as the text for the class, and it answers all the burning questions, such as "Can Nietzsche's rejection of traditional morality justify Bart's bad behavior?" (Short answer: no.)
Shores, who by his own count has watched "Simpsons" episodes 3,000 times, figured that this class might be popular, and his faculty sponsor, Chris Nealon, agreed. But he had no idea just how popular. When Shores stepped into class on the first night, 400 students crammed the lecture hall to vie for 100 spots.
Lest anyone think this is a course that academically challenged jocks seek for easy credits to stay eligible for football, Shores quizzed the students on (a) their knowledge of philosophic principles; and (b) "The Simpsons." The majority of those accepted were upperclassmen with majors ranging from philosophy to economics to English literature."
Citaten
"Men, though they look, fail to see what is well-being, what is the good in life."
Aristotle
"I can't live a button-down life like you. I want it all! The terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles!"
-- Homer Simpson .
"There are no facts, only interpretations."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
"I didn't do it. No one saw me do it. There's no way you can prove anything! "
-- Bart Simpson
"Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply as a means."
-- Immanuel Kant
"If you raise three children who can knock out and hog-tie a perfect stranger, you must be doing something right."
-- Marge Simpson
