House of Cards and Philosophy

Is Democracy overrated?

Does power corrupt? Or do corrupt people seek power?

Do corporate puppet masters pull politicians’ strings?

Why does Frank talk to the camera?

Can politics deliver on the promise of justice?

House of Cards depicts our worst fears about politics today. Love him or loathe him, Frank Underwood has charted an inimitable course through Washington politics. He and his cohorts depict the darkest dealings within the gleaming halls of our most revered political institutions.

These 24 original essays examine key philosophical issues behind the critically-acclaimed series—questions of truth, justice, equality, opportunity, and privilege. The amoral machinations of Underwood, the ultimate anti-hero, serve as an ideal backdrop for a discussion of the political theories of philosophers as diverse as Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Marx. From political and corporate ethics, race relations, and ruthless paragmatism to mass media collusion and sexual politics, these essays tackle a range of issues important not only to the series but to our understanding of society today.

J. Edward Hackett is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Akron, as well as an Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Kent State University and John Carroll University. He is author of Being and Value in Scheler: A Phenomenological Defense of Participatory Realism (forthcoming) and co-editor of a forthcoming anthology, Phenomenology for the 21^st Century. He is a specialist in phenomenology and ethical theory, and works at the intersections of phenomenology, pragmatism, and analytic ethics.

William Irwin (series editor) is Herve A. LeBlanc Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of Philosophy at King’s College in Pennsylvania and is the author of The Free Market Existentialist. Irwin originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books with Seinfeld and Philosophy in 1999 and has overseen recent titles including The Ultimate Daily Show and Philosophy, Game of Thrones and Philosophy, and Sons of Anarchy and Philosophy.