Psych and Philosophy: Some Dark Juju-Magumbo (Popular Culture and Philosophy (75))

“I’m getting something,” says Shawn, assuming a look of intense concentration and pressing his fingertips to the sides of his head. Shawn Spencer uses lies, pretense, and distraction to get at the truth. But can pseudoscience and fakery really be so helpful? And if they can be, is it ethical to employ them? __Psych and Philosophy__ takes an entertaining tour through the philosophical issues raised by a fake psychic. Can faulty logic get to the truth quicker than good logic? Are other people to blame for Shawn’s deceptions, because they’re more ready to credit him with supernatural powers than with superior natural powers? Is instinct more important than smart thinking—in police work and in life? Is it ethical to tell lies to promote the truth (and protect the public from criminals)? Almost every episode of __Psych__ revolves around a grisly death, treated humorously by the repartee between Shawn and Gus. The show has much to tell us about human ways of coping with death, as well as about the problem of justified knowledge, the ethics of law enforcement, and the interaction of love, friendship, loyalty, and professionalism. Contents 6 This Is the Introduction. . . But I Knew that You Knew That Already 10 I. IN BETWEEN THE LINES 14 1. I've Heard It Both Ways | NIcholas Michaud 16 2. What's the Story? | Michael J. Muniz 28 3. Why Physics Beats Science | Cynthia Jones 38 II. QUITE THE TALENT YOU HAVE THERE 48 4. Thin-Slicing through All the Baloney | Daniel Yim 50 5. Cocky Confidence Versus Careful Conviction | Graham D. Senor and Thomas D. Senor 62 6. Should the Police Hire a Psychic Detective? | Laura Guidry-Grimes 72 III. THUS SPOKE SHAWN SPENCER 82 7. The Three Metamorphoses of Shawn | Daniel P. Malloy 84 8. The Overman Is Available for Hugs | Roberto Ruiz 94 IV. PSYCH YOU OUT IN THE END 104 9. Psychic or Psycho? | Benjamin McCraw 106 10. The Bigger the Lie, the More People Will Believe It | James Edwin Mahon and Cristina Ceballos 116 11. Do You Remember that You Don't Remember? | Skyler King 126 V. EMBRACE THE DECEPTION 136 12. Lying for Justice | James Rocha 138 13. Shawn's Hocus Pocus Hokum | Jeffrey E. Stephenson 148 14. I Know You Know that I'm Not Telling the Truth | Gregory L. Bock and Jeffrey L. Bock 158 VI. I KNOW YOU KNOW 170 15. Duped into the Truth | Ronda Bowen 172 16. Shawn the Perfect Pragmatist | Amanda K. Lusky 182 17. A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That, and a Whole Lotta Knowledge | Courtland Lewis 192 VII. SOME DARK JUJU-MAGUMBO 204 18. The Fool Who Fools Fools | Dena Hurst 206 19. Too Good to Be True | Courtney Neal 214 20. Exploiting the Supernatural | Jeff Ewing 222 VIII. LEARN HOW TO BEND 230 21. From a Death to a Blooper | John M. Thompson 232 22. What Friends Are For | Patricia Brace 244 23. Shawn Reborn | C. Scott Sevier 254 24. The Amazing Psych-Man Versus the Sexist Mentalist | Mona Rocha 262 Psycho Psychics 274 The (I Know You) Know-It Alls 286 Index 294 With many different philosophers contributing, this book discusses the concepts of ethics, truth, justice, and philosophy as demonstrated in the popular TV show, Psych.--Publisher's description