In Zir travels through space and time through the last 26 years, the Doctor has had to solve numerous complex problems-- problems that often have applications to everyday life. This book, written by one of the Doctor's biggest fans, will explore, discuss and demonstrate the Doctor's distinctive view of life, ethics, spiritualism, and science.
On the evening of September 17th 1983, six-year-old Courtland Lewis sat down on his grandparents' linoleum floor to watch something he later learned was called Doctor Who. It changed his life. Thirty-eight years later, Courtland Lewis is a philosophy professor and the author or editor of fifteen books--six of them about Doctor Who. Most recently, Dr. Lewis edited Kiss and Philosophy: Wiser than Hell (2020).
"Courtland Lewis knows his stuff. As a lifelong Doctor Who fan, he understands the history and concepts of the show. As a philosophy professor, he has the ability to break down those concepts, examine them from every angle, and convey them to readers in easily understandable terms. Doctor Who can be a tricky show, full of high and complex continuity, and Dr. Lewis is an admirable guide through the vortex of space and time." --R. Alan Siler, author of Doctor Who's Greatest Hits (Remastered) and editor of Children of Time: The Companions of Doctor Who (2018)
"Love Doctor Who? Want to figure out how to live a life actually worth living? Then let Courtland Lewis be your guide in this fantastic explanation of what it means to be a good person, by way of the example set by the Time Lord from Gallifrey." -Massimo Pigliucci, author of A Field Guide to a Happy Life: Brief Lessons for Living (2020), and How To Be A Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (2017).
"It's hard to believe, but although the Doctor has been around for billions of years, he (or occasionally she) has only been teaching us how to live for sixty years. Lest we forget some of the Doctor's invaluable lessons, they have been captured, distilled, and condensed in this handy little communication device called a 'book'. This 'book' thingy has the descriptor The Real Meaning of Doctor Who. Amazing, really." -Ray Scott Percival, author of The Myth of the Closed Mind: Understanding How and Why People Are Rational (2012)
"Grab your bow-tie (because bow-ties are cool) and don your fez. Dr. Lewis takes us on an exciting journey into the examined life of the Doctor, getting us "into the thick of things" with moral dilemmas faced by the Doctor, the mission to avoid the "monsters" who threaten us with their evil actions, and how to deal with endings. This guidebook shows us how to "lead a better life" with the Doctor as our exemplar. As the Doctor says, "You've got to throw yourself in!" so embrace your inner flaneur and engage with life. Geronimo!" -Paula Smithka, co-editor of Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside (2010), More Doctor Who and Philosophy: Regeneration Time (2015), and Community, Diversity and Difference: Implications for Peace (2005)
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In Zir travels through space and time, the Doctor has to solve numerous amazing problems, many of which have applications to our everyday lives. This book, written by one of the Doctor's biggest fans, explores the Doctor's distinctive view of life, ethical, spiritual, and scientific after centuries of regeneration.
As a Time Lord, the Doctor is bound by the universal code of noninterference in the lives of different species on different planets. Zir finds that non-interference can be disastrous--but because of free will and unpredictability, interference can bring about calamitous consequences. Lewis probes deeper into how the Doctor copes with this harsh dilemma in different episodes of the show, and how these experiences went on to shape the unique personalities of Doctor Who.
The Doctor never has any doubts about Zir own identity. Yet the various regenerations have distinctly different personalities, and some regenerations are forgotten. The Doctor raises in acute form the philosophical issue of what constitutes personal identity: who are we at our core? Join us as we dart among the stars, exploring the philosophical theories and questions of personal identity, free will, individuality, regeneration and fate.
