My review of World of Warcraft and Philosophy

I have finally finished World of Warcraft and Philosophy, and it was a great read. If you have read my "so far" review of it, some of this will be repetitive, but cest la vie.

World of Warcraft and Philosophy was a very enjoyable read. Each chapter examines a different issue in WoW, like ninja looting, the Winterspring funeral massacre, and the famous Onyxia wipe (NSFW), from various philosophical perspectives, including Nihilism and Deontology. Thus, not only will you learn more about WoW (I didn't know about the Gnome Tea Party until after reading the book), but you'll learn more about philosophy too, a fantastic subject. I feel it's important to mention that this book examines WoW from a philosophical perspective, not the other way around. What's great about the book is that it uses World of Warcraft to explain these concepts in terms that are easy to understand, so you are guaranteed to walk away a bit smarter. You may not always agree with what the authors of the chapters say, but they lay our their arguments well enough that you can formulate a logical rebuttal if you do disagree.

Still, the first section of the book is a bit of a chore, and that can turn off readers who might otherwise be interested in the book. The two good chapters include one that examines how ethics change when we enter WoW and one that looks at WoW as a response to Nihilism, i.e. life's meaninglessness. However, another chapter is simply a script of a skit in which a raid boss cries in front of a tax specialist because she is being taxed on her drops and can't afford to pay. Although it can be thought provoking, the chapter only glances over its topic and never actually says anything about it. Another chapter talks about the metaphysics of movement, but it often feels like it is over-examining every issue it looks at, and it is such an overview that it can never elaborate on what it is saying, eventually being reduced to recommendations of what to read if you are interested in the topic. The book gets its act together as it goes on, though, and gets much better.

If you are reading my blog, then you probably play WoW, so you may want to know if the book's chapters contain a tedious amount of detail and explanation about things that aren't obvious to non-players but that we would already know. Thankfully, the book seems to contain just the right amount: enough to explain the concepts discussed without explaining it so much as to bore players who are familiar with the game. The explanations of philosophy also contain a similar amount of exposition, enough to explain the concepts without boring those who already understand them. In this regard, the whole book is, for the most part, very well written.

The book is not without its flaws, though. One of its most obvious flaws in the aforementioned first section. The other large flaw is that the book just... ends. Though World of Warcraft and Philosophy contains a good introductory section, after the last chapter (about metaphysics and how it impacts WoW) ends, that's it. No conclusion, no last words; it simply goes right into the brief biographies of the various authors of the chapters of the book. It feels like a very empty way to end what is otherwise a great book. I suppose if you know that is how it will end, then it won't disappoint you as much as it disappointed me.

If you play WoW and enjoy philosophy, even a little bit, you should pick up this book. Even if you don't enjoy philosophy, maybe this is the book you need to really appreciate it. Either way, I highly recommend you give it a go. At the very least, it will make you sound more intelligent when you are conversing with your guildmates over vent after another wipe.

3.5/4 stars.