The Simpsons and Philosophy class was inspired by the book of the same name, The Simpsons and Philosophy, by William Irwin , Mark T. Conard, and Aeon J. Skoble. The book is a collection of essays by philosophers from various areas of expertise, covering topics such as Aristotle, Kant, Marx, Nietzsche, and many others.
In 2003, I created and taught a course at the University of California Berkeley designed to be an introduction to philosophy, by combining primary philosophy texts along with Simpsons episodes and examples. Maybe it was simply the right topic, at the right place, at the right time — but the response to the class was beyond anything I could have ever reasonably guessed at. It was a thrill to see so many students from many different backgrounds and areas of study curious to learn philosophy in this way (I still remember our oldest student was in her 60s, and students would sometimes bring their parents to attend classes as well. It was weird, but nice).
Over 500 students crammed into Dwinelle Hall attended the first class ever, to apply and be able to take the course for university credit. I would teach over 1000 students during my time at Berkeley, and the Simpsons and Philosophy class ultimately ran for a total of about five years.
I’ve written a bit more about the class on my website here, with some plans to potentially revive the class in the future. But for now, here’s a fun bit of trivia on philosophy in The Simpsons — going all the way back to the first Simpsons appearance ever, a one-minute short called “Good Night” (April 1987) on The Tracey Ullman Show:
Bart: “What is the mind? Is it just a system of impulses, or is it something tangible?”
Homer: “Relax. What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind.”