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The Simpsons and Philosophy 

Section 10 – Lesley Walker, Steven Major, and Fredrick Rosario 

The Simpsons is a fictional cartoon television show that first aired on December 17, 1989. The show was created by Matt Groening and features a family of 5 living in a small town called Springfield. The characters the episodes are not only humors and entertaining, but also provide philosophical and intellectual insight when examined on a deeper level. The main character, and man of the house, Homer Simpson, is a character that on the surface can be perceived as flawed in almost every way, but, represents so much more. Children of Homer, Bart and Lisa are the ideal representation of the typical American siblings. They fight, they seem to share no common goals, morals, or attitudes, they seem to be polar opposite in almost every way, but yet they still come together to watch their favorite show. The youngest of Homer’s children, Maggie, is a representation of both Eastern and Western Philosophy while also being the character of innocence and childhood.  

With the exclusion of the 2 extreme character types of superhuman and bestial characters, there are four logical categories of characters, as described by Aristotle: The virtuous, continent, incontinent, and vicious character. The virtuous person is someone who knows right and wrong, does the right thing, and is not pained by doing so. This character is best represented by Lisa, the daughter of Homer, who is an intellectual and is far beyond her years, acting appropriately, responsibly, and has good morals. The continent person is someone who also knows the difference between right and wrong, but struggles to do the right thing, and is pained to do so, but resists the temptation to do wrong. This character can be represented by many characters in the show. The incontinent person is gives thought to the idea of right and wrong, but, gives in to the pain of wanting to do wrong. Bart, the only son of Homer, is a prime example of this character. He constantly struggles to do the right thing, but always ends up making the wrong decision. The vicious person is the one that thinks of the bad and wrong things, but also acts on them and enjoys doing so. Although this may seem like a reasonable fit for Homer’s character, he is a mixture of all four of the character types, as he proves he can be each of the characters in various episodes. A major factor for why Homer is not the vicious character specifically, is due to the fact that his actions are not malicious in natures, rather impulsive and is unregulated by reason. Homer’s character lacks practical wisdom (phronesis), or the ability to steer one’s way through the world intelligently, morally, and in a goal-oriented way. 

The book “The Simpsons and Philosophy” explores the idea that not only do the characters represent different ideas we see in philosophy, but the episodes can also provide lessons of life, discusses religion, and compares the characters to philosophers and different views of the topic. Dr. John Donaldson teaches a one-day course at Glasgow University where he implements The Simpsons and how it relates to philosophy to introduce the topic to students. Just as the authors of The Simpsons and Philosophy, Donaldson explores the depths of the show as it relates to philosophy, great philosophical thinkers such as Aristotle and Socrates, as well as morality and free, and divine command theory. 

Quiz questions 

1- Who created the show and when did it first air on TV? 

2- At what university is there a class that discusses the philosophy of The Simpsons? 

3- What is another term for practical wisdom? 

4- What philosophers are referenced in understanding the philosophy of The Simpsons? 

5- What are the 4 character types? 

Discussion Questions 

1- Do you think the predictions from The Simpsons are “coincidence” or do you think there is more to it? If there is more to it, what could it be? 

2- If you were able to take the one-day course, would you take it and why? What other forms of pop culture would you enjoy in a similar class? 

3- Do you think The Simpsons has philosophical depth and offers intellectual ideas, or is just another fictional cartoon show that people infer more meaning when watching and analyzing episodes and characters? Why or why not? 

4- Like Homer Simpson, do you think that most people, in real life, fall into the area of being a combination of all 4 character types, or are most people fit for only one character type at a time? Are people capable of changing character types over time, and if they can, what may cause them to change to a different character type?