World of Warcraft and Philosophy: Wrath of the Philosopher King

Description

Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most popular ever MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game), World of Warcraft now has over eleven million subscribers worldwide. WoW is everywhere-from episodes of South Park and The Simpsons, to online series like Watch the Guild, accolades and awards from game critics, and prime-time commercials with Mr. T. Meanwhile, the game causes more and more real world events, as people marry individuals they have met in the game, real-world financial markets thrive in virtual WoW property, and real-world murders, lawsuits, and illnesses are provoked by the game. A specially commissioned guild of philosophers tackles the hard questions arising from WoW.

Luke Cuddy is editor of The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy. He teaches philosophy at Southwestern College and MiraCosta College in San Diego. His website is http://neo-philosophy.com/. John Nordlinger is Senior Research Program Manager at Microsoft Research. He has written about ethical and educational issues surrounding Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games and other videogames.