Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book About Something About a Show About Nothing
Each chapter is an extended academic style essay that manages to be both dense enough for those familiar with philosophy and accessible enough for the average fan to read. The chapters were all written by different writers so the style and quality varies, of course, but there isn’t a single essay here that isn’t strong on its own merits.
The first section is divided into four chapters that look at each of the major characters individually. The first chapter, for instance, compares the idea of Jerry Seinfeld the actor playing Jerry Seinfeld the character to Socrates the philosopher becoming Socrates the character in the dialogues written by his student Plato. Where do the two Jerries split? Is everything that Jerry the character says really believed by Jerry the actor.
This is a difficult enough concept for most fans to grasp when their favorite actor is playing a character completely unlike themselves, but what happens when your actor is playing himself? In much the same way, is the Socratic philosophy we know from the writings of Plato really the ideas of Socrates, or merely the interpretations of Plato?
In keeping with the Greeks, George Constanza is considered from an Aristotelian point of view in chapter 2. Is George’s life basically miserable because he is a loser, or is he a loser because puts himself into miserable situations?
Chapter 3 considers Elaine and her relationship to a group that is all-male. Is Elaine a feminist because she is just one of the boys and goes along with their self-centered worldview, or is Elaine rejecting feminism by simply becoming a male who happens to have a vagina? This is a truly fascinating chapter because it sets the stage for the section that will consider the ethics of these four characters and, as anyone who has ever watched the show can attest, if Seinfeld is truly about something, then that something is ethical behavior in an immoral world.
Chapter 4 looks at Kramer who is perhaps the most difficult character to pin down philosophically. Kramer alone possesses what appears to be a moral compass among the friends, but even he has lapses. He is loyal and cares about people, but to what extent does Kramer really relate to other people. There is a deep-seated disconnect from reality in the way that Kramer approaches the world and this chapter considers his multi-side personality from a Kierkegaardian point of view.
Section two contains essays far more deeply concerned with philosophy of the show than the characters and looks how different episodes can be applied with a critical engagement with such big time names in the world of philosophy as Nietzsche, Sartre and Wittgenstein. My favorite is the chapter on Sartre, if only because the show is perhaps the most existential comedy of all time.
Section three contains incredibly good essays on both George Constanza’s decision to do the opposite of his gut reaction, and on the supporting character of J. Peterman. The Constanza Maneuver chapter is perhaps the most accessible in the book and considers various philosophical ideas on what is and what isn’t rational. The J. Peterman chapter is my favorite in the book because it considers the universe of Seinfeld from a Marxist perspective, adding yet another pound of weight to the realization that Marx got it right. Everything is ideological in this world and this chapter helps in proving that fact.
The final section is the real meat of the book. These three essays contemplate the ethical and moral decisions reached by the characters. So many episodes of Seinfeld revolve around the seemingly insignificant events that most of us never take the time to consider from an ethical perspective. For instance, why do we feel compelled to bring something to a party being thrown by other people? Why on earth should a guest have to bring something to a party they were invited to?
There are ethical dimension at play in every single decision we make, but most of the time we don’t even think about it. We just follow the unspoken rules. Seinfeld and the gang dare to question those rules and, worse, the dare to question the bigger rules of life. Some see them as the most unethical protagonists on television, but you may change your kind after reading these chapters.
The last chapter looks at this perhaps most Jewish show in the history of television from a decided Christian perspective. It is all about the show’s finale episode and takes as its prevailing critique the story of the Good Samaritan. After reading it, you may go back and read that famous Biblical story from a new perspective. Is the lesson of that story really the lesson that Jesus was trying to teach.
