A philosophical look at the movie Inception and its brilliant metaphysical puzzlesIs the top still spinning? Was it all a dream? In the world of Christopher Nolan's four-time Academy Award-winning movie, people can share one another's dreams and alter their beliefs and thoughts. A philosophical look at the movie Inception and its brilliant metaphysical puzzles Is the top still spinning? Was it all a dream? In the world of Christopher Nolan's four-time Academy Award-winning movie, people can share one another's dreams and alter their beliefs and thoughts. Introduction: Plato's Academy AwardThe Editor's Totem: An Elegant Solution for Keeping Track of RealityPart One. Was Mal Right? Was it All Just a Dream? Making Sense of Inception1.Was It All a Dream? Why Nolan's Answer Doesn't Matter(Ruth Tallman)2. Let Me Put My Thoughts in You: It Was All Just a Dream(Jason Southworth)3. Even If it is a Dream, We Should Still Care(Andrew Terjesen)4. The Unavoidable Dream Problem(James T.M. Miller)Part Two. Is the Top Still Spinning? Tackling the Unanswerable Question5. The Parable of the Spinning Top: Skepticism, Angst, and Cobb's Choice(Katherine Tullmann)6. Reality Doesn't Really Matter(Dan Weijers)7. Why Care Whether the Top Keeps Spinning?(Bart Engelen)Part Three. Is Inception Possible? The Metaphysics, Ethics, and How To of Incepting8. How to Hijack a Mind: Inception and the Ethics of Heist Films(Daniel P. Malloy)9. Inception, Teaching and Hypnosis: The Ethics of Idea-Giving(Adam Barkman)10. Inception and Free Will: Are They Compatible?(John Fitzpatrick)11. Honor and Redemption in Corporate Espionage(Albert J. Chan)Part Four. What is Dreaming? Exploring the Nature of (Shared) Dreams (Upon Dreams)12. Shared Dreaming and Extended Minds(Ken Marable)13. Morally Responsible Dreaming: Your Mind is the Scene of the Crime(Lance Belluomini)14. Dream Time: Inception and the Philosophy of Time(Michael Sigrist)15. Dreams and Possible Worlds: Inception and the Metaphysics of Modality(Charles Joshua Horn)16. Do Our Dreams Occur While We Sleep?(Keith Dromm)Part Five. Should I Take a Leap of Faith? Religious Themes in Inception17. Taking a Leap of Faith: A How To Guide(David Kyle Johnson)18. Limbo, Utopia, and the Paradox of Idyllic Hope(Clint Jones)19. Unlocking the Vault of the Mind: Inception and Asian Philosophy(Scott Daniel Dunbar)Part Six. What Does it All Mean? Finding the Hidden Lessons of Inception20. Mal-Placed Regret(Kimberly Blessing)21. You're Just a Shade: Knowing Others, and Yourself(Daniel Forbes)22. Paradox, Dreams, and Strange Loops in Inception(Tyler Shores)Appendix: A Safe of Secrets: Hidden Things You May Have MissedContributors: The ArchitectsIndex