The Virtues of Captain America (2^nd Ed.)

Learn how Captain America's timeless ethical code is just as relevant in the twenty-first century as it was during the 1940s

Captain America, or simply ?Cap,? provides an example of the virtues that define personal excellence, as well as the ideals and principles upon which the United States of America was founded. In The Virtues of Captain America, philosopher and long-time comics fan Mark D. White shows us that this fictional superhero's ?old-fashioned? moral code is exactly what we need today to restore kindness and respect in our personal and civic lives.

Presenting Captain America's personal morality within a virtue ethics framework, the book opens with an introduction to basic concepts in moral and political philosophy and addresses issues surrounding the use of fictional characters as role models. The following chapters examine Captain America in detail, exploring the individual virtues that Cap exemplifies, the qualities that describe his moral character, his particular brand of patriotism, his ongoing battle with fascism, his personal vision of the ?American Dream,? his moral integrity and sense of honor, and much more.

Now in its second edition, The Virtues of Captain America is updated to include all the new developments in Captain America's saga, including new examples from the last ten years of Captain America's appearances in Marvel Comics. New coverage of the recent ?Secret Empire? storyline, in which Captain America was brainwashed by the fascist organization Hydra, features new sections examining the nature of fascism and how Captain America's character and virtues were affected by the change. This edition also offers new material on Sam Wilson?formerly Captain America's partner the Falcon who recently became Captain America himself?and how his interpretation of the role compares to Steve Rogers'.

Showing how we can be better people if we pay attention to the choices made by the Sentinel of Liberty, The Virtues of Captain America:

• Examines the moral and political philosophy behind 80 years of Captain America comics and movies in a light-hearted, often humorous tone
• Demonstrates that the core principles and judgment exhibited by Captain America in the 1940s remain relevant in the twenty-first century
• Describes the basic themes of Captain America's ethics, such as courage, humility, perseverance, honesty, and loyalty
• Illustrates how Captain America stands for the basic ideals of America, not its politics or government

Requiring no background in philosophy or familiarity with the source material, the second edition of The Virtues of Captain America: Modern-Day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero remains a must-read for everyone wanting to make ethical decisions in complex real-world situations and tackle the personal and political issues of today with integrity and respect.

Introduction

Acknowledgments

Notes on Source Material

About the Author

1              Superhuman Ethics Class

Utilitarianism

Deontology

A Civil War … of Ethics!

Virtue Ethics

Virtuous Deontology … No, Deontological Virtue … Maybe “Deontovirtue”?

2              Captain America as a Moral Exemplar

Can a Fictional Character Be a Moral Exemplar?

Aren’t Fictional Characters Liable to Be Perfect?

Sixty Years, Dozens of Writers … One Captain America?

3              Five Basic Virtues

Courage

Humility

Righteous Indignation

Sacrifice (and Responsibility)

Perseverance

4              Honor and Integrity

The Honor of Captain America

External Honor as Respect

Internal Honor as Integrity

How Deep Does Integrity Go?

Principle and Compromise

Duty and Sacrifice (Again)

5              Judgment

Making the Hard Decisions

Whose Right Answer?

Tragic Dilemmas and How to Avoid Them

     When Judgment Evolves

Has the World Changed … or Has Captain America?

6              Patriotism, Fascism, and the Dream

Patriotism: The Captain and America

The Three Core American Ideals

Justice

Equality

Liberty

Cosmopolitanism

Fascism and the “Secret Empire”

The American Dream Versus the American Reality

7   Principle, Politics, and the Captains America

 “I’m a Hero, Not a Politician!”

Principles Above Politics

Captain America in (Principled) Action

Secret Empire/Nomad

The Captain

Civil War

     A New Captain America

     Proactivity, Conflict, and Compromise

Conclusion

Appendix: Why Are There Ten Volumes of

Captain America and Nine Volumes of Avengers?

References

Index

Mark D. White is a Professor of Philosophy at the College of Staten Island/CUNY who has written widely on superheroes and philosophy, including in the books Batman and Ethics and the A Philosopher Reads... series, as well as contributions to many volumes in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series. He has published numerous books and journal articles in philosophy, economics, and law, including Kantian Ethics and Economics and The Manipulation of Choice.