Tom Morris is at it again this time interviewing Rebecca Housel on her recent books on Twilight and Philosophy and True Blood and Philosophy. The … and Philosophy books are intended to bridge the gab between the mainstream and the sublime and vampire talk certainly is all the rage. I haven’t read any of these types of books mainly because I’m reluctant to spend my precious time reading what most likely is a to dumbing down  of philosophy (which, of course, is different than making philosophical topics accessible). But Tom Morris is attempting to get inside the heads of these authors with his interviews and perhaps show why these books are worth considering.

To the question, “So you’re saying that the recent obsession with vampires may feel empowering to some at a subliminal level, but might also be a kind of dangerous empowerment?” Housel responds,

Buddhists recommend accepting impermanence in life to get closer to enlightenment. But when the simulacra or artificial realities of pop culture get involved–we might begin to romanticize our own realities in a delusional way. Suddenly, nothing is impermanent when you’re an immortal vampire, especially a vampire from today’s pop culture. Maybe it becomes easier to excuse violent behavior. Maybe the idea of dying in order to live doesn’t sound so crazy anymore….

Maybe there are better ways to consider these questions. But maybe these books can have value if used as gateway literature to the hard stuff. I suppose if they get people to consider philosophical topics they otherwise would not consider, that’s valuable.

Read the full interview here.

Books covered in the interview:

Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality

True Blood and Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Things with You