The
Onion,
with its unique brand of deadpan satirical humor, has become a familiar part of the American scene. The newspaper has a readership of over a million, and it reaches millions more with its spin-off books and The Onion News Network. The
Onion
has shown us that standard ways of thinking about the news have their grotesque and silly side, and this invites philosophical examination. Twenty-one philosophers were commissioned to figure out just what makes the
so truthful and insightful. Are the
writers truly cynical, or just cynically faking it? Does the
really have a serious point of view on religion? On sex? On politics? Who cares what Area Man thinks? If everyone’s so dumb, how come so many
readers keep on laughing at how dumb they are?