The Good Place and Philosophy: Everything is Forking Fine! (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series)

**Dive into the moral philosophy at the heart of all four seasons of NBC’s __The Good Place__, guided by academic experts including the show’s philosophical consultants Pamela Hieronymi and Todd May, and featuring a foreword from creator and showrunner Michael Schur** * Explicitly dedicated to the philosophical concepts, questions, and fundamental ethical dilemmas at the heart of the thoughtful and ambitious NBC sitcom __The Good Place__ * Navigates the murky waters of moral philosophy in more conceptual depth to call into question what Chidi’s ethics lessons—and the show—get right about learning to be a good person * Features contributions from __The Good Place__’s philosophical consultants, Pamela Hieronymi and Todd May, and introduced by the show’s creator and showrunner Michael Schur (__Parks and Recreation__, __The Office__) * Engages classic philosophical questions, including the clash between utilitarianism and deontological ethics in the “Trolley Problem,” Kant’s categorical imperative, Sartre’s nihilism, and T.M Scanlon's contractualism * Explores themes such as death, love, moral heroism, free will, responsibility, artificial intelligence, fatalism, skepticism, virtue ethics, perception, and the nature of autonomy in the surreal heaven-like afterlife of the Good Place * Led by Kimberly S. Engels, co-editor of __Westworld and Philosophy__ Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents Contributors Editor’s Introduction and Acknowledgments Foreword Introduction: Pamela Hieronymi and Todd May, philosophical advisors to The Good Place Part I “I Just Ethics’d You in the Face” Chapter 1 How Do You Like Them Ethics? What Makes an Action Right? Should It Bother Us? The Coincidence Thesis Benevolent Administration Tragedy, Comedy, or Cincinnati? Notes Chapter 2 Don’t Let the Good Life Pass You By: Doug Forcett and the Limits of Self-Sacrifice “Michael, Face Facts. Doug Is Not the Blueprint of How to Live a Good Life. He’s Become a Happiness Pump.” —Janet “We Are Here to Celebrate the Life of Martin Luther Gandhi Tyler Moore, the Snail.” —Doug “I Should Donate More Blood. I’ll Try, but the Last Time I Went Down There, They Said I Was So Anemic They Ended Up Giving Me Blood.” —Doug Snails and Radishes “I Just Want to Be Virtuous for Virtue’s Sake.” —Eleanor Notes Chapter 3 Luck and Fairness in The Good Place Fairness and Judgment Morality and Control Moral Luck in The Good Place Unfairness in the System Judgment and Ideals The New System Notes Part II “Virtuous for Virtue’s Sake” Chapter 4 Can Eleanor Really Become a Better Person? Aristotle’s Guide to Moral Growth Aristotle’s Four Levels of Moral Character Kohlberg’s Model of Moral Development Does Character Actually Matter? The Moral of the Story Notes Chapter 5 The Good Place and The Good Life Being Happy and Being Good Who Died and Left Aristotle in Charge of Ethics? Why Kant We Be Good? Utilitarianism: It’s So Simple! We Are Not in This Alone Notes Chapter 6 The Ethics of Indecision: Why Chidi Anagonye Belongs in The Bad Place Aristotle’s Virtue Theory: Learning to Be Good Decision Making 101: The Practical Syllogism Practical Wisdom (Phronesis): “I Have to Consider All the Factors” Can’t We Just Give Chidi a Break?! A Medium Place for Medium People Notes Part III “All Those Ethics Lessons Paid Off” Chapter 7 Moral Absurdity and Care Ethics in The Good Place Moral Absurdity Good Enough for The Good Place A Different Moral Calculus The Remedy to Absurdity Notes Chapter 8 The Medium Place: Third Space, Morality, and Being In Between Escape, Neutrality, and Stomachache Eleanor’s “Third Possibility” Dialectics, Contradictions, and Mindy’s Weird Beige House Self-Exploration and Becoming Third Space and Medium Morality Don’t Let the Good Life Pass You By We’re All Medium People! Notes Chapter 9 What We May Learn from Michael’s Solution to the Trolley Problem The Point of Human Ethics Trolleys in The Good Place Sacrifice Yourself! What Else the Massive Man Should Complain About Michael’s Solution Notes Part IV “Help Is Other People” Chapter 10 Some Memories You May Have Forgotten: Holding Space for Each Other When Memory Fails Stories, Relationships, and the Moral Self in The Good Place Stories, Relationships, and the Moral Self in This Actual World What Is Memory? Constructing Memories of What Really Matters The Ethics of Memory Some Memories You May Have Forgotten Notes Chapter 11 The Good Other Old Habits Die Hard (Not as Hard as Those People You Crushed with the Trolley, Though) I Want to Become the Person I Pretended to Be Pobody’s Nerfect! Conclusion: The Good Other Notes Chapter 12 Not Knowing Your Place: A Tale of Two Women “You’re Okay, Eleanor. You’re in The Good Place.” “Take It Away from Me! Sorry, I Mean Take It Away, Kamilah.” Irigaray and Woman as Other “My Whole Life I’ve Tried to Be Extraordinary, but It Has Never Seemed to Be Enough.” ... Coming from a Place Where Penis Envy Is a Thing Why Haven’t You Forkers Invented a Medium Place? “Surprise Idiots! You’re All in The Bad Place.” Notes Part V “Absurdity Needs to Be Confronted” Chapter 13 Marginal ComfortsKeep Us in Hell Bad Faith and Bad Place Everything Is Fine! Chidi, the Serious Man A Turn toward Authenticity and against Comfort Welcome! Not Everything Is Fine! Notes Chapter 14 “I Would Refuse to Be a God if It Were Offered to Me”: Architects and Existentialism in The Good Place The Silent Indifference of an Empty Universe Existential Crisis You’re All in The Bad Place Snowplowing Circumstances I Would Refuse to Be a God Notes Part VI “Searching for Meaning Is Philosophical Suicide” Chapter 15 Death, Meaning, and Existential Crises “So You’re Saying That I Would Be ... No ... Me?” “Searching for Meaning Is Philosophical Suicide” “Let Me Just Get into the Mindset of a Human” “I’m Gonna Eat All This Chili and/or Die Trying” “I’m Gonna Teach You the Meaning of Life” “Holy Crap! I Just Almost Died” “We’re All Just Corpses Who Haven’t Yet Begun to Decay” Notes Chapter 16 From Indecision to Ambiguity: Simone de Beauvoir and Chidi’s Moral Growth Chidi’s Indecision as Seriousness Chidi’s Nihilistic Chili Reboot: Chidi’s Positive Ambiguity Pandemonium, or Not? Getting to “The Answer” Notes Chapter 17 Beyond Good and Evil Places: Eternal Return of the Superhuman Aim for the Stars, for the Superhuman Demons Too Can Go beyond Themselves Eleanor Really Is Better than Others The Problem of Getting to The Good Place Me versus Us The End of History? Beyond Good and Evil Places Notes Part VII “The Dalai Lama Texted Me That” Chapter 18 Conceptions of the Afterlife: The Good Place and Religious Tradition Why Religion, and Which One? Asian Religions and The Good Place Indian Philosophy, Hindu Religion, and The Good Place Meaning Making and Religious Pluralism Notes Chapter 19 Who Are Chidi and Eleanor in a Past-(After)Life? The Buddhist Notion of No-Self Would the “Real Chidi” Please Stand Up? The Buddhist Critiques of the Self: What the “Fork” Is a “Chidi”? Every “Thing” Changes The Self as a Useful Fiction Notes Part VIII “Sometimes a Flaw Can Make Something Even More Beautiful” Chapter 20 Hell Is Other People’s Tastes Eleanor’s Clown Nook Tahani’s Mansion and Jason’s Bud‐Hole No Good Place for Chidi “Oh Cool, More Philosophy—That Will Help Us!” The Metaphysics of Taste in The Good Place Hell Is Other People’s Tastes Notes Chapter 21 Why Everyone Hates Moral Philosophy Professors: The Aesthetics of Shallowness Hell Is Ordinary People Why Does Everyone Hate Moral Philosophers? Philosophy and Depth Depth and Existentialism Chidi’s Tragic Flaw My Love-Hate Relationship with Professors of Ethics and Moral Philosophy Conclusion: The Aesthetics of Shallowness Notes Part IX “Oh Cool, More Philosophy! That Will Help Us.” Chapter 22 An Epistemological Nightmare? Ways of Knowing in The Good Place Three Types of Knowledge The Requirements of Propositional Knowledge Justification, Sources of Knowledge, and Chidi’s Nightmare A Debate about Justification (and Janet) “Here Comes the Egghead ...” Notes Chapter 23 What’s the Use of Free Will? Free Will The Case against Free Will Determinism Compatibilism Michael’s 15-Million-Point Plan When Is the Will Free? In Defense of Free Will The Use of Free Will Moral Responsibility Determinism versus Moral Responsibility Notes Chapter 24 From Clickwheel through Busty Alexa: The Embodied Case for Janet as Artificial Intelligence Embodiment Matters Wisdom and Social Abilities A Moral Neighborhood Not Just a Janet Anymore Notes Chapter 25 Why It Wouldn’t Be Rational to Believe You’re in The Good Place (and Why You Wouldn’t Want to Be There Anyway) Cartesian Skepticism about The Good Place The Good Place as a Good Explanation Scientific Skepticism about The Good Place Cosmic Coachella Conclusion: The Meaning of Life Notes Index EULA "I JUST ETHICS'D YOU IN THE FACE". How Do You Like Them Ethics? / David Baggett, Marybeth Baggett -- Don't Let the Good Life Pass You By / Greg Littmann -- Luck and Fairness in The Good Place / Scott A Davison, Andrew R Davison -- "VIRTUOUS FOR VIRTUE'S SAKE". Can Eleanor Really Become a Better Person? / Eric J Silverman, Zachary Swanson -- The Good Place and The Good Life / C Scott Sevier -- The Ethics of Indecision / Traci Phillipson -- "ALL THOSE ETHICS LESSONS PAID OFF". Moral Absurdity and Care Ethics in The Good Place / Laura Matthews -- The Medium Place / Catherine M Robb -- What We May Learn from Michael's Solution to the Trolley Problem / Andreas Bruns -- "HELP IS OTHER PEOPLE". Some Memories You May Have Forgotten / Alison Reiheld -- The Good Other / Steven A Benko -- Not Knowing Your Place / Leslie A Aarons -- "ABSURDITY NEEDS TO BE CONFRONTED". Marginal Comforts Keep Us in Hell / Jake Jackson -- "I Would Refuse to Be a God if It Were Offered to Me" / Kimberly S Engels -- "SEARCHING FOR MEANING IS PHILOSOPHICAL SUICIDE". Death, Meaning, and Existential Crises / Kiki Berk -- From Indecision to Ambiguity / Matthew P Meyer -- Beyond Good and Evil Places / James Lawler -- "THE DALAI LAMA TEXTED ME THAT". Conceptions of the Afterlife / Michael McGowan -- Who Are Chidi and Eleanor in a Past-(After)Life? The Buddhist Notion of No-Self / Dane Sawyer -- "SOMETIMES A FLAW CAN MAKE SOMETHING EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL". Hell Is Other People's Tastes / Darren Hudson Hick, Sarah E Worth -- Why Everyone Hates Moral Philosophy Professors / T Storm Heter -- "OH COOL, MORE PHILOSOPHY! THAT WILL HELP US.". An Epistemological Nightmare? Ways of Knowing in The Good Place / Dean A Kowalski -- What's the Use of Free Will? / Joshua Tepley -- From Clickwheel through Busty Alexa / Robin L Zebrowski -- Why It Wouldn't Be Rational to Believe You're in The Good Place (and Why You Wouldn't Want to Be There Anyway) / David Kyle Johnson Dive into the moral philosophy at the heart of all four seasons of NBC’s The Good Place , guided by academic experts including the show’s philosophical consultants Pamela Hieronymi and Todd May, and featuring a foreword from creator and showrunner Michael Schur Explicitly dedicated to the philosophical concepts, questions, and fundamental ethical dilemmas at the heart of the thoughtful and ambitious NBC sitcom The Good Place Navigates the murky waters of moral philosophy in more conceptual depth to call into question what Chidi’s ethics lessons—and the show—get right about learning to be a good person Features contributions from The Good Place ’s philosophical consultants, Pamela Hieronymi and Todd May, and introduced by the show’s creator and showrunner Michael Schur ( Parks and Recreation , The Office ) Engages classic philosophical questions, including the clash between utilitarianism and deontological ethics in the “Trolley Problem,” Kant’s categorical imperative, Sartre’s nihilism, and T.M Scanlon's contractualism Explores themes such as death, love, moral heroism, free will, responsibility, artificial intelligence, fatalism, skepticism, virtue ethics, perception, and the nature of autonomy in the surreal heaven-like afterlife of the Good Place Led by Kimberly S. Engels, co-editor of Westworld and Philosophy