Eric Bronson - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy

CONTENTS

The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy

Edited by Eric Bronson

Copyright 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

The girl with the dragon tattoo and philosophy: everything is fire/edited by Eric Bronson.

p. cm.(The Blackwell philosophy and pop culture series; 40)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-94758-6 (pbk.: acid-free paper); ISBN 978-1-118-13291-3 (ebk);

ISBN 978-1-118-13292-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-13293-7 (ebk)

1. Larsson, Stieg, 19542004Criticism and interpretation. 2. Philosophy

in literature. 3. Larsson, Stieg, 19542004. Mn som hatar kvinnor. 4. Larsson, Stieg,

19542004. Flickan som lekte med elden. 5. Larsson, Stieg, 19542004. Luftslottet som

sprngdes. 6. Larsson, Stieg, 19542004Philosophy. I. Bronson, Eric (date).

PT9876.22.A6933Z67 2012

839.73'8dc23

2011034588

To Pippi Longstocking and the misfit in all of us

Everything great is done in the storm.

Plato

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Confidential Sources

Like all good detective stories, this book has a confusing and complicated cast of characters who intersect in magical ways and fill the words on the page with their living pulse. As Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist quickly discover, no one person can go it very far alone.

The authors of this volume, my fellow Knights of the Philosophic Table, shared an obsessive determination to work long hours in the spirit of Kalle Blomkvist. They never lost their patience and joy in putting their cumulative wisdom to work on Lisbeths behalf. To them, Id like to pass on the thoughtful words that Blomkvists sister Annika says to Lisbeth after they go through their trial together: Go and get some sleep. And stay out of trouble for a while. And before your taillights disappear around the corner, let me also say, Thanks.

Everyone should have a Blomkvist playing bass in his band. The guy who flawlessly kept the time when the rest of us went off on our riffs was Bill Irwin. Like Blomkvist, Bill is also a fiercely loyal friend, and professionally, he is almost pathologically focused on the job at hand. He took hold of a story and worked his way forward to the point where it approached perfection. When he was at his best he was brilliant...

Thanks also to Connie Santisteban over at Wiley. Although publishing houses often resemble the Sections top secret office in stermalm, where employees have no idea of the others existence, Connie gives it all a personal touch. And like Erika Berger in charge at Millennium and later at the Svenska Morgon-Posten , Connie runs the show creatively, decisively, and compassionately.

Over at York University, where the Canadian Dags and Mias meet for coffee and contemplation, two people deserve special recognition. Thanks to Patrick Taylor, who, like Dragan Armansky, takes in the outcasts and firmly believes, Everyone deserves a chance. And thanks also to Gail Vanstone, who, in following Dags footsteps to Millennium , gave me the tip that blew the whole thing open.

Finally, thanks to Dave Tulloch and the new Bronson women: Elana and Sophie. Like Lisbeths long-distance friendship with Plague, Poison, and SixOfOne at Hacker Republic, if I could claim to have any sort of family or group affiliation, then it [is] with these lunatics.

INTRODUCTION

The Girl Who Kicked the Sophists Nest

If Lisbeth Salander is the new voice of reason, then truth can be a moody bitch.

I suppose Stieg Larsson approved of this droll characterization from his hard-boiled, coffee-swilling journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, but its a bit of a problem for old-school philosophers.