Popular Culture and Philosophy® Series Editor: George A. Reisch VOLUME 1 Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing (2000) VOLUME 2 The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer (2001) VOLUME 3 The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real (2002) VOLUME 4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale (2003) VOLUME 9 Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts (2004) VOLUME 12 Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful than You Can Possibly Imagine (2005) VOLUME 13 Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way (2005) VOLUME 17 Bob Dylan and Philosophy: It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Thinking) (2006) VOLUME 19 Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think! (2006) VOLUME 30 Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful with that Axiom, Eugene! (2007) VOLUME 35 Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant (2008) VOLUME 36 The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am (2008) VOLUME 42 Supervillains and Philosophy: Sometimes Evil Is Its Own Reward (2009) VOLUME 49 Zombies, Vampires, and Philosophy: New Life for the Undead (2010) Edited by Richard Greene and K. Silem Mohammad VOLUME 54 The Onion and Philosophy: Fake News Story True, Alleges Indignant Area Professor (2010) Edited by Sharon M. Kaye VOLUME 55 Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside (2010) Edited by Courtland Lewis and Paula Smithka VOLUME 57 Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United (2010) Edited by Jim Berti and Durrell Bowman VOLUME 58 Dexter and Philosophy: Mind over Spatter (2011) Edited by Richard Greene, George A. Reisch, and Rachel Robison-Greene VOLUME 60 SpongeBob SquarePants and Philosophy: Soaking Up Secrets Under the Sea! (2011) Edited by Joseph J. Foy VOLUME 61 Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy: The Footprints of a Gigantic Mind (2011) Edited by Josef Steiff VOLUME 63 Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits? (2011) Edited by D.E. Wittkower VOLUME 64 The Rolling Stones and Philosophy: It’s Just a Thought Away (2012) Edited by Luke Dick and George A. Reisch VOLUME 67 Breaking Bad and Philosophy: Badder Living through Chemistry (2012) Edited by David R. Koepsell and Robert Arp VOLUME 68 The Walking Dead and Philosophy: Zombie Apocalypse Now (2012) Edited by Wayne Yuen VOLUME 69 Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy: Awaken the Social Assassin Within (2012) Edited by Mark Ralkowski VOLUME 74 Planet of the Apes and Philosophy: Great Apes Think Alike (2013) Edited by John Huss VOLUME 75 Psych and Philosophy: Some Dark Juju-Magumbo (2013) Edited by Robert Arp VOLUME 82 Jurassic Park and Philosophy: The Truth Is Terrifying (2014) Edited by Nicolas Michaud and Jessica Watkins VOLUME 83 The Devil and Philosophy: The Nature of His Game (2014) Edited by Robert Arp VOLUME 84 Leonard Cohen and Philosophy: Various Positions (2014) Edited by Jason Holt VOLUME 85 Homeland and Philosophy: For Your Minds Only (2014) Edited by Robert Arp VOLUME 86 Girls and Philosophy: This Book Isn’t a Metaphor for Anything (2015) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene VOLUME 87 Adventure Time and Philosophy: The Handbook for Heroes (2015) Edited by Nicolas Michaud VOLUME 88 Justified and Philosophy: Shoot First, Think Later (2015) Edited by Rod Carveth and Robert Arp VOLUME 89 Steve Jobs and Philosophy: For Those Who Think Different (2015) Edited by Shawn E. Klein VOLUME 90 Dracula and Philosophy: Dying to Know (2015) Edited by Nicolas Michaud and Janelle Pötzsch VOLUME 91 It’s Always Sunny and Philosophy: The Gang Gets Analyzed (2015) Edited by Roger Hunt and Robert Arp VOLUME 92 Orange Is the New Black and Philosophy: Last Exit from Litchfield (2015) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene VOLUME 93 More Doctor Who and Philosophy: Regeneration Time (2015) Edited by Courtland Lewis and Paula Smithka VOLUME 94 Divergent and Philosophy: The Factions of Life (2016) Edited by Courtland Lewis VOLUME 95 Downton Abbey and Philosophy: Thinking in That Manor (2016) Edited by Adam Barkman and Robert Arp VOLUME 96 Hannibal Lecter and Philosophy: The Heart of the Matter (2016) Edited by Joseph Westfall VOLUME 97 The Ultimate Walking Dead and Philosophy: Hungry for More (2016) Edited by Wayne Yuen VOLUME 98 The Princess Bride and Philosophy: Inconceivable! (2016) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene VOLUME 99 Louis C.K. and Philosophy: You Don’t Get to Be Bored (2016) Edited by Mark Ralkowski VOLUME 100 Batman, Superman, and Philosophy: Badass or Boyscout? (2016) Edited by Nicolas Michaud VOLUME 101 Discworld and Philosophy: Reality Is Not What It Seems (2016) Edited by Nicolas Michaud VOLUME 102 Orphan Black and Philosophy: Grand Theft DNA (2016) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison- Greene VOLUME 103 David Bowie and Philosophy: Rebel Rebel (2016) Edited by Theodore G. Ammon VOLUME 104 Red Rising and Philosophy: Break the Chains! (2016) Edited by Courtland Lewis and Kevin McCain VOLUME 105 The Ultimate Game of Thrones and Philosophy: You Think or Die (2017) Edited by Eric J. Silverman and Robert Arp VOLUME 106 Peanuts and Philosophy: You’re a Wise Man, Charlie Brown! (2017) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene VOLUME 107 Deadpool and Philosophy: My Common Sense Is Tingling (2017) Edited by Nicolas Michaud VOLUME 108 The X- Files and Philosophy: The Truth Is In Here (2017) Edited by Robert Arp VOLUME 109 Mr. Robot and Philosophy: Beyond Good and Evil Corp. (2017) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene VOLUME 110 Hamilton and Philosophy: Revolutionary Thinking (2017) Edited by Aaron Rabinowitz and Robert Arp VOLUME 111 The Man in the High Castle and Philosophy: Subversive Reports from Another Reality (2017) Edited by Bruce Krajewski and Joshua Heter VOLUME 112 The Americans and Philosophy: Reds in the Bed (2018) Edited by Robert Arp and Kevin Guilfoy VOLUME 113 Jimi Hendrix and Philosophy: Experience Required (2018) Edited by Theodore G. Ammon VOLUME 114 American Horror Story and Philosophy: Life Is But a Nightmare (2018) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene VOLUME 115 Iron Man vs. Captain America and Philosophy: Give Me Liberty or Keep Me Safe (2018) Edited by Nicolas Michaud and Jessica Watkins VOLUME 116 1984 and Philosophy: Is Resistance Futile? (2018) Edited by Ezio Di Nucci and Stefan Storrie VOLUME 117 The Dark Tower and Philosophy (2018) Edited by Nicolas Michaud and Jacob Thomas May VOLUME 118 Scott Adams and Philosophy: A Hole in the Fabric of Reality (2018) Edited by Daniel Yim, Galen Foresman, and Robert Arp VOLUME 119 Twin Peaks and Philosophy: That’s Damn Fine Philosophy! (2018) Edited by Richard Greene and Rachel Robison-Greene VOLUME 120 Amy Schumer and Philosophy: Brainwreck! (2017) Edited by Charlene Elsby and Rob Luzecky TITLES IN PREPARATION: The Twilight Zone and Philosophy (2018) Edited by Heather L. Rivera amd Alexander E. Hooke Westworld and Philosophy (2018) Edited by Richard Greene and Joshua Heter The Handmaid’s Tale and Philosophy (2018) Edited by Rachel Robison-Greene Tom Petty and Philosophy (2018) Edited by Randall E. Auxier and Megan Volpert Rick and Morty and Philosophy (2018) Edited by Lester C. Abesamis and Wayne Yuen Stranger Things and Philosophy (2019) Edited by Jeffey A. Ewing and Andrew M. Winters For full details of all Popular Culture and Philosophy® books, visit www.opencourtbooks.com. Volume 118 in the series, Popular Culture and Philosophy ®, edited by George A. Reisch To find out more about Open Court books, visit our website at www.opencourtbooks.com. Open Court Publishing Company is a division of Carus Publishing Company, dba Cricket Media. Copyright © 2018 by Carus Publishing Company, dba Cricket Media First printing 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Open Court Publishing Company, 70 East Lake Street, Suite 800, Chicago, Illinois 60601. Scott Adams and Philosophy: A Hole in the Fabric of Reality This book has not been prepared, authorized, or endorsed by Scott Adams. Library of Congress Control Number: 2018946392 This book is also available as an e-book (ISBN 978-0-8126-9983-8). Contents The Reality of Scott Adams I In Front of Your Eyes 1. How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Tolerate the Master Persuader Hypothesis IVAN WOLFE 2. Persuade Me Once, Shame on You . . . RICHARD GREENE 3. How I Could Have Made Hillary President DAVID RAMSAY STEELE II Comic-Strip Kafka 4. Scoundrels, the Lot of Us JOHN V. KARAVITIS 5. The Serious Point of Scott’s Humor ENZO GUERRA AND ADAM BARKMAN 6. The PowerPoint Conspiracy Theory CHRISTOPHER KETCHAM III It Tastes Better if We All Do It Together 7. Scott Adams’s Joy of Logic RICHARD BILSKER 8. Is It a Fact that Facts Don’t Matter? DAVID RAMSAY STEELE 9. But Women Can Vote . . . SANDRA HANSMANN AND CYNTHIA JONES 10. Intelligence and Duh-mocracy BEN SAUNDERS IV Comic-Strip Camus 11. Dilbert’s Absurd World ALEXANDER CHRISTIAN 12. Dilbert Is an Asshole and That’s Why He’ll Never Be Happy and Nobody Loves Him CHARLENE ELSBY AND ROB LUZECKY 13. The Essence of Dogbert ELLIOT KNUTHS 14. Of Course It Sucks—It’s Work ANDY WIBLE V Golden Age, Ready or Not 15. Bias Is Rational! RAY SCOTT PERCIVAL 16. Why Scott Adams Is Stupid DANIEL MIORI 17. Sweeping Up God’s Debris RACHEL ROBISON-GREENE 18. Scott Adams and the Pinocchio Fallacy DAVID RAMSAY STEELE Bibliography Author Bios Index The Reality of Scott Adams S ome philosophers claim that you always know when you’re in a dream and when you’re awake. But 2016 was a year in which reality often took on a dreamlike quality. You’d be walking along the street with a friend, engrossed in her phone, and she would suddenly turn and run down a sidestreet, shouting: “Hold on, I’ve gotta catch this magikarp!” This was the phenomenon of Pokémon GO. News reports told of people who walked off roofs or walked off piers, plummeting to their deaths, in pursuit of wild Pokémon. It hardly seems real, looking back now, but the casualties are still missing. That wasn’t the only strange thing that year. The Cubs won the World Series! That seemed to violate some of the laws of physics and mathematics, perhaps even the most fundamental laws of metaphysics. Metaphysicians used to debate whether not winning was a necessary or merely a contingent property of the baseball team called the Chicago Cubs. Well, no they didn’t, if you take the boring old line that facts matter, but they might have done and they probably thought about it. Oh yes, and then there was politics. Surely it was high time for a woman president! But, out of nowhere, there came a supernatural surge of support for Bernie Sanders, a dry-as-dust self-proclaimed “socialist,” and every trick in the book had to be used to fight off this infuriating challenger. Yes, a few tricks that weren’t in the book, too. On the Republican side, rich entertainment was provided by the entry into the race of the joke candidate, Donald J. Trump. All the most authoritative experts agreed that Trump had absolutely no chance of winning the nomination. In a field of seventeen Republican claimants, Trump was always the center of attention, but obviously, once the field was narrowed, and it became a straight choice between Trump and some more serious candidate, Trump the politician