Abstract

As an introduction to philosophy for wrestling fans, Philosophy Smackdown is a fun, engaging, thought provoking, and all-around lively introduction to big-picture questions in philosophy. Keeping in line with popular philosophy texts, Edwards introduces, in an eminently accessible way, questions that philosophers have discussed for as long as the discipline has existed. The book is broken up into six chapters, each touching on core themes in philosophy: (1) Reality, (2) Freedom, (3) Identity, (4) Morality, (5) Justice, and (6) Meaning. The book concludes with a “dark match” pitting philosophy against the spectacle of professional wrestling. Edwards explores the ways philosophers can learn from professional wrestling and uses professional wrestling to illustrate to newcomers how philosophy should be done. Utilizing his passion for, and knowledge of, wrestling and its history, Edwards illustrates perennial philosophical problems. At times, however, he gets almost too caught up in the wrestling side, making some of the chapters feel uneven.