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Bob Dylan and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy) |  | Creators: Peter Vernezze, Carl Porter
Publisher: Open Court
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
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Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 224943
Media: Paperback
Edition: First Printing
Pages: 225
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.4
ISBN: 0812695925
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.42164092
EAN: 9780812695922
ASIN: 0812695925
Publication Date: December 16, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780812695922 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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Product Description
The legions of Bob Dylan fans know that Dylan is not just a great composer, writer, and performer, but a great thinker as well. In Bob Dylan and Philosophy, eighteen philosophers analyze Dylans ethical positions, political commitments, views on gender and sexuality, and his complicated and controversial attitudes toward religion. All phases of Dylans output are covered, from his early acoustic folk ballads and anthem-like protest songs to his controversial switch to electric guitar to his sometimes puzzling, often profound music of the 1970s and beyond. The book examines different aspects of Dylans creative thought through a philosophical lens, including personal identity, negative and positive freedom, enlightenment and postmodernism in his social criticism, and the morality of bootlegging. An engaging introduction to deep philosophical truths, the book provides Dylan fans with an opportunity to learn about philosophy while impressing fans of philosophy with the deeper implications of his intellectual achievements.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
 Born again Bob -- it really happened October 25, 2008
Lucifer (www.bobshakespeare.com)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Of special interest to Dylan fandom, in this frank and brutally honest book, are chapters 12 and 13: "With God (and Socrates and Augustine) on Our Side," by James S. Spiegel; and "Busy Being Born Again: Bob Dylan's Christian Philosophy," by Francis J. Beckwith. Until this book came along (_Bob Dylan and Philosophy_), all of Dylan's fans just tried to pretend it never happened--that Bob never turned his heart over to Jesus. Sorry, folks: it's true.
Rock stars have quite the reputation, but they can surprise you. I'll never forget 1978, when Dylan first got born again. My two best friends, Belial and Beelzebub, were so upset they could not even talk about it!
I thought Dylan's conversion was just a publicity stunt. I made a bet with Belial -- my signed 1965 glossy of Dylan at KQED San Francisco, against Belial's mint 1963 vinyl of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan -- that Bob would chuck Christianity within three months.
Instead Jesus kept Dylan hangin' on for three years. So I lost that wager.
Meanwhile, Beelzebub was so embarrassed by the loss of Bob Dylan to the cause of Christ that he put out a rumour, throughout the music industry, that the Dylan albums, _Slow Train Coming_ (1979), _Saved_ (1980), and _Shot of Love_ (1981), were not really about past sins, recent conversion, and future salvation at all; but were rather about sexual dysfunction, welcome medication, and eventual, glorious release. (And there might even be some truth in that. One of the side effects that evangelists rarely tell you about, when you first accept Jesus Christ as your lord and saviour, is that personal salvation may interfere with your sexual pleasure. Believe me, I've seen it happen a million times.)
(Well, I mean, I have not "seen it," not with my own eyes, but I do know about the problem.)
Dylan's Christian phase was not like Ron Santo of the Chicago Cubs: Santo got born again in April, in hopes of batting .400 that season; and then chucked religion in September, after batting only .289. For Dylan, it was the real deal, and it lasted for three years.
1,243 days after he found Jesus, Dylan finally gave up on Christianity and returned to our side. I'll never forget that day: Belial put on some Dylan vinyls, and the three of us were cool again. But let the good Lord have mercy on Dylan's soul, because I never will: not unless Belial returns my autographed KQED glossy. But I just know I won't ever won't get it back.
--L.
 Incisive and Intelligent November 15, 2007
Alfons C. Salellas Bosch (Barcelona)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a good book if your goal is to think about Dylan's oeuvre and/or from his lyrics. If you're looking for an eulogistic volume, escape this one. The book as a whole is very clear in its purpose, all the essays included in it are interesting. From ethics to metaphysics, through aesthetics, Bob Dylan and Philosophy (50% of Dylan, 50% of philosophy, which is really good) is also a nice teacher ressource. Finally, if you like Bob Dylan's work and you like reading philosophy, yes: this is your book. I enjoyed very much.
 Jim Spiegel philosophically rocks! February 9, 2007
P. Soen (Itasca, Illinois United States)
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
So what do John Calvin, Bob Dylan, and Jim Spiegel all have in common? They all rock out Augustinian style! Yes, that is right. Within this philosophic volume exploring the themes and thought patterns of Bob Dylan, Jim Spiegel explores Bob Dylan's stance on God's sovereignty. How cool is that? You get three great minds converging in one essay in addition to many other essays for the price of less than $[...].
In case any of you are not familiar with Jim Spiegel, he is a professor of philosophy at Taylor University who teaches a wide variety of philosophic disciplines such as epistemology, ethics, history of philosophy from ancient to modern (two different semesters), philosophy of mind, and of course one of his favorite "Taylormade" course aesthetics. Normally, one would have to enroll as a undergraduate student to enjoy the philosophic theatrics of Dr. Spiegel, but here featured within this volume the public is able to catch just a brief glimpse at the Spiegel-geist manifesting himself in one of his favorite topics aesthetics, which, of course, according to the Spiegel definition is the study of rock 'n roll as it emerges out of philosophy.
According to Spiegel, philosophy truly begins with rock 'n roll insofar as Aristotle sketches out the first rough outlines of the rock 'n roll program. Yes, it is true that there is not a single cultural movement that cannot be first attributed to Aristotle. Seriously, if it was not for Aristotle's album de anima where would Thomas Aquinas really be today? I can say this he would not be the most hard-core theologian of the medieval period.
Anyway, Spiegel traces out the theological dilemmas of Bob Dylan within the lyrics of his early and late career. Spiegel points out that Bob Dylan has not always held a consistent Calvinistic position. In some cases, Bob Dylan is overwhelmed with the immediate circumstance and is therefore unable to see God's sovereignty in specific circumstances of his life. This is a position to Spiegel labels as weak sovereignty. In other more positive cases, Dylan is able to rejoice in the fact that God has brought him through troubling circumstance towards a more firm understanding of things. This position Spiegel labels as strong sovereignty. Spiegel notes that the problem with too strong of the view of sovereignty is that sometimes Dylan is unable to see his own participation in the sovereign plan of God.
Spiegel then brings out what he calls compatiblism. This is a view that wholeheartedly understands God wonderful and sovereignly good plan without negating individual moral responsibility. Admittedly, Dylan does not always achieve this balanced understanding, but there are rare glimpses of sovereignly enabled freedom within the thoughtful lyrics of his songs. If you enjoy reading Spiegel's article, make sure to check out some of his books on Amazon such as: How to Be Good in a World Gone Bad, The Benefits of Providence: A New Look at Divine Sovereignty, and Hypocrisy: Moral Fraud and Other Vices
Fun stimulating pastiche October 8, 2006
EHinLA (Pasadena,CA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I picked this book up on a whim - interesting title, attractive cover - and I skimmed a bit in the library. I am glad I took it home. I think you are likely to be a bit disapointed if you are looking for a book about Bob Dylan - and certainly there are plenty of others to choose from. As the Introduction to the book says, Dylan's work is used as a starting off point to look, with a philosophical perspective, at various themes in Dylan's work as a way of introducing philosphical concepts and methods to a broader audience. I don't get the impression that the idea is to be definitive, rather these generally easy to read essays are thought provoking and a rather fun way to learn about philosophy. While I have read all of the Platonic dialogues, I do not know very much about current trends in philosophy. I have particularly enjoyed the material in this book which touches on Post Modern philosophy, specifically as it relates to the Enlightenment ideals. There are a number of authors and sources which I plan to have a closer look at. In this way, as a fun introduction to what can only be described as a frequently stodgy subject (at least in its academic form) I highly recommend this book. You may not agree with all of the opinions expressed within, but they are nevetheless quite stimulating. After all, it is still fun to think - isn't it? ;) And what better excuse do you need to dust off some of your old Dylan LP's and give them another spin? Enjoy!
fascinating July 6, 2006
jon grife (maryland)
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
highly recomended for any serious Dylan fan. book is easy to read and well worth it. there are some briliant insights that i have never read anywhere else.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 8
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