George A. Dunn is a lecturer at the University of Indianapolis and Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University, China, and a writer on pop culture and philosophy. He is an editor of The Hunger Games and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012) and True Blood and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) and has contributed chapters to many other books in the Blackwell Philosophy & Pop Culture series, including books on Terminator , Iron Man , Battlestar Galactica , and Mad Men . Jason T. Eberl is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He is the editor of Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008) and co-editor (with Kevin S. Decker) of Star Wars and Philosophy (2005) and Star Trek and Philosophy (2008). He has also written essays for similar volumes on Harry Potter , Metallica, Stanley Kubrick, The Hunger Games , Terminator , and Avatar . William Irwin is Professor of Philosophy at King's College. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including Superman and Philosophy , Black Sabbath and Philosophy, and Spider-Man and Philosophy .

Introduction: "Gotta Look This Life in the Eye" viii Acknowledgments: Thanks to the Reaper Crew x Part I "An Equal Mix of Might and Right": Ethics at 92 mph 1 1 Virtue and Vice in the SAMCROpolis: Aristotle Views Sons of Anarchy 3 Jason T. Eberl 2 A Prospect's Guide to Nietzsche 16 Tim Jung and Minerva Ahumada 3 Tig Needs an Escort Home: Is Loyalty a Virtue? 29 James Edwin Mahon 4 A Saint among the Sons: Aquinas on Murder and the Men of Mayhem 38 Randall M. Jensen Part II "Off the Social Grid": The Politics of Mayhem 51 5 SAMCRO versus the Leviathan: Laying Down the (Motor)Cycle of Violence 53 George A. Dunn 6 "The Rat Prince" and The Prince: The Machiavellian Politics of the MC 65 Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy 7 Chaos and Order: Anarchy in the MC 73 Bruno de Brito Serra 8 "Another Fun-Filled Day in the Six Counties": The Real IRA--Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? 85 Philip Smolenski 9 SAMCRO Goes to War 94 Alex Leveringhaus Part III "The Concept Was Pure, Simple, True": Biker Identity and Meaning 105 10 My Skin, My Self: SAMCRO's Ink and Personal Identity 107 Charlene Elsby 11 The Faith of Our Sons and the Tragic Quest 117 Kevin Corn 12 Once a Biker Slut, Always a Biker Slut: Narrative Identity in Charming 128 Minerva Ahumada and Tim Jung 13 SAMCRO and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 139 Massimiliano L. Cappuccio Part IV "The Passion in His Heart and the Reason in His Mind": Sex, Love, and Gender 151 14 Sometimes a Motorcycle Is Just a Motorcycle: Freud and Hamlet Come to Charming 153 Andrea Zanin 15 When a Charming Woman Speaks 165 Leslie A. Aarons 16 Mothers of Anarchy: Power, Control, and Care in the Feminine Sphere 175 Leigh C. Kolb Part V "Each Savage Event Was a Catalyst for the Next": The Historic and the Homeric 187 17 Sons of History: How SAMCRO Lost and Found Its Way 189 Peter S. Fosl 18 Anarchism and Authenticity, or Why SAMCRO Shouldn't Fight History 201 Peter S. Fosl 19 Good Old Fashioned Mayhem 214 Greg Littmann 20 The Road Out of Mayhem 225 Greg Littmann Contributors: Philosophers of Mayhem 237 List of Episodes: The Life (and Death?) of Sam Crow 243 Index 246