Contributors: Hosts and Guests viii Acknowledgments: “Figuring Out How It All Works” xv Introduction: Taking Sides in Westworld 1 Part I “You Said This Place Was a Game” 3 1 On Playing Cowboys and Indians 5 Don Fallis 2 A Special Kind of Game: The Portrayal of Role‐play in Westworld 15 Nicholas Moll 3 Humans and Hosts in Westworld: What’s the Difference? 26 Marcus Arvan Part II “You’re Only Human, After All” 39 4 Crossing the Uncanny Valley: What it Means to be Human in Westworld 41 Siobhan Lyons 5 Revealing Your Deepest Self: Can Westworld Create or Corrupt Virtue? 50 Jason T. Eberl 6 Westworld: From Androids to Persons 61 Onni Hirvonen Part III “We Can’t Define Consciousness Because Consciousness Does Not Exist” 71 7 Turing’s Dream and Searle’s Nightmare in Westworld 73 Lucía Carrillo González 8 What Is It Like to Be a Host? 79 Bradley Richards 9 Does the Piano Play Itself? Consciousness and the Eliminativism of Robert Ford 90 Michael Versteeg and Adam Barkman Part IV “Choices Hanging in the Air Like Ghosts” 103 10 Maeve’s Dilemma: What Does it Mean to Be Free? 105 Marco Antonio Azevedo and Ana Azevedo 11 A Place to Be Free: Writing Your Own Story in Westworld 114 Joshua D. Crabill 12 From William to the Man in Black: Sartrean Existentialism and the Power of Freedom 125 Kimberly S. Engels Part V “I’ve Always Loved a Great Story…Lies That Told a Deeper Truth” 137 13 Hideous Fictions and Horrific Fates 139 Madeline Muntersbjorn 14 Narrating Gender, Gendering Narrative, and Engendering Wittgenstein’s “Rough Ground” in Westworld 150 Lizzie Finnegan 15 The Observer(s) System and the Semiotics of Virtuality in Westworld’s Characters: Jonathan Nolan’s Fictions as a Conceptual Unity 162 Patricia Trapero‐Llobera 16 What Does Bernard Dream About When He Dreams About His Son? 173 Oliver Lean Part VI “I Choose to See the Beauty” 183 17 The Dueling Productions of Westworld: Self‐Referential Art or Meta‐Kitsch? 185 Michael Forest and Thomas Beckley‐Forest 18 Beauty, Dominance, Humanity: Three Takes on Nudity in Westworld 196 Matthew Meyer 19 Sci‐Fi Western or Ancient Greek Tragedy? 206 Caterina Ludovica Baldini Part VII “You Can’t Play God Without Being Acquainted With the Devil” 217 20 Of Hosts and Men: Westworld and Speciesism 219 François Jaquet and Florian Cova 21 Violent Births: Fanon, Westworld, and Humanity 229 Anthony Petros Spanakos 22 The Wretched of Westworld: Scientific Totalitarianism and Revolutionary Violence 239 Dan Dinello Index 252 

PHILOSOPHY/POP CULTURE "We can't define consciousness because consciousness does not exist. Humans fancy that there's something special about the way we perceive the world, and yet we live in loops as tight and as closed as the hosts do, seldom questioning our choices, content, for the most part, to be told what to do next." —Dr. Robert Ford, Westworld Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality? HBO's Westworld, a high-concept cerebral television series which explores the emergence of artificial consciousness at a futuristic amusement park, raises numerous questions about the nature of consciousness and its bearing on the divide between authentic and artificial life. Are our choices our own? What is the relationship between the mind and the body? Why do violent delights have violent ends? Could machines ever have the moral edge over man? Does consciousness create humanity, or humanity consciousness? In Westworld and Philosophy, philosophers, filmmakers, scientists, activists, and ethicists ask the questions you're not supposed to ask and suggest the answers you're not supposed to know. There's a deeper level to this game, and this book charts a course through the maze of the mind, examining how we think about humans, hosts, and the world around us on a journey toward self-actualization. Essays explore different facets of the show's philosophical puzzles, including the nature of autonomy as well as the pursuit of liberation and free thought, while levying a critical eye at the human example as Westworld's hosts ascend to their apotheosis in a world scarred and defined by violent acts. The perfect companion for Westworld fans who want to exit the park and bend their minds around the philosophy behind the scenes, Westworld and Philosophy will enrich the experience of the show for its viewers and shed new light on its enigmatic twists and turns.