Peter S. Fosl is chair of the philosophy program at Transylvania University. Coauthor of The Philosopher's Toolkit, he has contributed to Metallica and Philosophy, Ultimate Lost and Philosophy, Terminator and Philosophy, Heroes and Philosophy, and Twilight and Philosophy. Visit www.PeterFosl.us for more information. William Irwin is a professor of philosophy at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including House and Philosophy, Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy, and Inception and Philosophy.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Some Real Achievers Introduction: Sometimes There?s a Film I. First Round Robin: Tying it All Together, or Not 1. What Would the Dude Do? Deconstructing the Dude Joseph Zeccardi and Hilda H. Ma 2. The Big Lebowski and Mathematical Logic Craig Jackson II. Second Round Robin: Thousands of Years of Philosophical Tradition or From Plato to Sandy Koufax 3. The Dude Abides, But Does He Flourish? Jason T. Eberl 4. "Man Down!" Aristotle, Epicurus, and the Dude on Friendship and Solidarity Ian O'Loughlin 5. Epicurus and "Contented Poverty": The Big Lebowski as Epicurean Parable Morgan Rempel 6. Buddhism, Daoism, and Dudeism Joseph J. Lynch III. Third Round Robin: Over the Line! 7. Drawing a Line in the Sand: Rules of Aggression in The Big Lebowski David Svolba and Adam Betz 8. "That Ain't Legal Either": Rules, Virtue, and Authenticity in The Big Lebowski IV. Fourth Round Robin: Nothing to Be Afraid of 9. Jeffrey Nicholas, Bowling our Way out of Nihilism 10. Existentialism, Absurdity, and The Big Lebowski Bryan N. Baird 11. Bowling, Despair, and American Nihilism Evan Brown and Peter S. Fosl V. Fifth Round Robin: What Makes a Dude? 12. The Big Lebowski's Oedipal Complex Roger Hunt 13. Being an Achiever at Lebowski Fest Julie Dufort and Roseline Lemire-Cadieux 14. "Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man": The Dude as Feminist Ally Ben Almassi 15. "Well, I do work, sir": The Dude and the Value of Sloth Nicolas Michaud VI. Sixth Round Robin: Mark it Zero! 16. "Am I wrong"?: Walter's Will to Believe Daniel P. Malloy 17. "That's just like, uh, your opinion, man": Jesus the Dude, and Ordinary Language Philosophy Reuben Stern, Sam Wilkinson VII. Seventh Round Robin: Livin' in the Past 18. Jews, and the Philosophy of Memory Clancy Smith, Hippies 19. "I don't roll on shabbas!" Jewish Identity and the Meaning of History in The Big Lebowski Joseph A. Edelheit Contributors: The Rest of the Dude's Bowling Team Index: Little of This, Little of That