Book 49 of 52 -- South Park: You Know, I Learned Something Today (The Blackwell Philosophy & Pop Culture Series)

I am a huge South Park fan.

I love it.

It really is the best show on television when it is dead on.

One of the main reasons that I like the show is that I think it is much deeper than what you would expect it to be... and I mean on a level that I have difficulty explaining.

We live in an age where it seems that every philosophy enthusiast is obsessed with achieving relevance.

So here is a collection of serious essays in which 23 American academics (from such institutions as the College of Staten Island and the University of Central Arkansas) try to squeeze philosophical significance out of the manic world of Cartman, Chef, Big Gay Al, et al.

It might help if the essays weren't given such titles as "Flatulence and Philosophy" or, my personal favourite, "Aesthetic Value, Ethos, and Phil Collins: the power of music in South Park".

The book's underpinning argument is that philosophy has practical application in everyday life and, whatever the catalyst, the debate can turn serious and intelligent if you strip the issues from their humorous context.

Thus much of the book is about gender issues, gay marriage, voting rights, evil, religious pluralism and existentialism.