C O N T E N T S

RI
AL
C ONT E NTS
“Unraveling the Mysteries”
ix
1
MA
I NTRODUCTION:
TE
ACK NOW LE D G M E NTS
PA R T O N E
D
“IT ALL BEGAN ON A WARM SUMMER’S
EVENING IN GREECE”: ARISTOTELIAN INSIGHTS
7
GH
TE
1 Aristotle on Sheldon Cooper: Ancient Greek Meets
Modern Geek
Greg Littmann
RI
2 “You’re a Sucky, Sucky Friend”: Seeking Aristotelian
Friendship in The Big Bang Theory
21
Dean A. Kowalski
35
CO
PY
3 The Big Bang Theory on the Use and Abuse of
Modern Technology
Kenneth Wayne Sayles III
PA R T T W O
“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?
W. Scott Clifton
v
51
vi
5
CONTENTS
. . . But Is Wil Wheaton Evil?
Donna Marie Smith
6 Do We Need a Roommate Agreement?: Pleasure,
Selfishness, and Virtue in The Big Bang Theory
Gregory L. Bock and Jeffrey L. Bock
65
80
PA R T T H R E E
“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
Jonathan Lawhead
99
8 Sheldon, Leonard, and Leslie:
The Three Faces of Quantum Gravity
Andrew Zimmerman Jones
112
9 The One Paradigm to Rule Them All:
Scientism and The Big Bang Theory
Massimo Pigliucci
128
10 Cooper Considerations: Science, Religion, and
Family
Adam Barkman and Dean A. Kowalski
144
PA R T F O U R
“I NEED YOUR OPINION ON A MATTER OF
SEMIOTICS”: LANGUAGE AND MEANING
11 Wittgenstein and Language Games in
The Big Bang Theory
Janelle Pötzsch
161
12 “I’m Afraid You Couldn’t Be More Wrong!”:
Sheldon and Being Right about Being Wrong
Adolfas Mackonis
175
vii
CONTENTS
13 The Cooper Conundrum: Good Lord, Who’s
Tolerating Whom?
Ruth E. Lowe
14 The Mendacity Bifurcation
Don Fallis
189
203
PA R T F I V E
“THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE THAT HAS ALWAYS
ELUDED ME”: THE HUMAN CONDITION
15 Mothers and Sons of The Big Bang Theory
Ashley Barkman
219
16 Penny, Sheldon, and Personal
Growth through Difference
Nicholas G. Evans
233
17 Deconstructing the Women of The Big Bang
Theory: So Much More Than Girlfriends
Mark D. White and Maryanne L. Fisher
244
“Hey, It’s a Big
Menu—There’s Two Pages Just for Desserts”
257
“But If We Were Part of the
Team . . . We Could Drink for Free in
Any Bar in Any College Town”
261
“Cornucopia . . . Let’s Make That Our
Word of the Day”
267
THE EPISODE COMPENDIUM:
C O N T R I B U TO R S :
INDEX: