Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: “Unraveling the Mysteries” 1
Part One “It All Began On A Warm Summer’s Evening In Greece”: Aristotelian Insights
1 Aristotle on Sheldon Cooper: Ancient Greek Meets Modern Geek 7Greg Littmann
2 “You’re a Sucky, Sucky Friend”: Seeking Aristotelian Friendship in The Big Bang Theory 21Dean A. Kowalski
3 The Big Bang Theory on the Use and Abuse of Modern Technology 35Kenneth Wayne Sayles III
Part Two “Is It Wrong To Say I Love Our Killer Robot?”: Ethics And Virtue
4 Feeling Bad about Feeling Good: Is It Morally Wrong to Laugh at Sheldon? 51W. Scott Clifton
5 . . . But Is Wil Wheaton Evil? 65Donna Marie Smith
6 Do We Need a Roommate Agreement?: Pleasure, Selfishness, and Virtue in The Big Bang Theory 80Gregory L. Bock and Jeffrey L. Bock
Part Three “Perhaps You Mean A Different Thing Than I Do When You Say ‘Science’”: Science, Scientism, And Religion
7 Getting Fundamental about Doing Physics in The Big Bang Theory 99Jonathan Lawhead
8 Sheldon, Leonard, and Leslie: The Three Faces of Quantum Gravity 112Andrew Zimmerman Jones
9 The One Paradigm to Rule Them All: Scientism and The Big Bang Theory 128Massimo Pigliucci
10 Cooper Considerations: Science, Religion, and Family 144Adam Barkman and Dean A. Kowalski
Part Four “I Need Your Opinion On A Matter Of Semiotics”: Language And Meaning
11 Wittgenstein and Language Games in The Big Bang Theory 161Janelle Pötzsch
12 “I’m Afraid You Couldn’t Be More Wrong!”: Sheldon and Being Right about Being Wrong 175Adolfas Mackonis
13 The Cooper Conundrum: Good Lord, Who’s Tolerating Whom? 189Ruth E. Lowe
14 The Mendacity Bifurcation 203Don Fallis
Part Five “The Human Experience That Has Always Eluded Me”: The Human Condition
15 Mothers and Sons of The Big Bang Theory 219Ashley Barkman
16 Penny, Sheldon, and Personal Growth through Difference 233Nicholas G. Evans
17 Deconstructing the Women of The Big Bang Theory: So Much More Than Girlfriends 244Mark D. White and Maryanne L. Fisher
The Episode Compendium: “Hey, It’s a Big Menu—There’s Two Pages Just for Desserts” 257
Contributors:“But If We Were Part of the Team . . . We Could Drink for Free in Any Bar in Any College Town” 261
Index: “Cornucopia . . . Let’s Make That Our Word of the Day” 267