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“The Good Place”: Ethics Comedy Asks if There’s a Second Chance at Life
Christine Jamieson, PhD and Matthew Anderson
Volume 34 Issue 1, 2 & 3 | Posted: March 30, 2020
Eleanor, Tahani, Chidi and Jason, the four are characters in The Good Place, a satirical comedy about an afterlife that’s best described as a mash-up of historic Christian notions of purgatory and French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre's play No Exit.
The Good Place reinforces the ancient hope for a second (or sometimes, 800th) chance, while testing the characters against the kinds of increasingly tricky ethical dilemmas taught in ethics courses.
The series reveals sophisticated research. The writers hired a philosopher, and one episode entitled “The Trolley Problem” not only encapsulates a classic ethical conundrum, it also won a Hugo Award. The trolley problem asks whether it's justified to kill one person to save five lives.
Eleanor, Tahani, Chidi and Jason, the four are characters in The Good Place, a satirical comedy about an afterlife that’s best described as a mash-up of historic Christian notions of purgatory and French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre's play No Exit.
The Good Place reinforces the ancient hope for a second (or sometimes, 800th) chance, while testing the characters against the kinds of increasingly tricky ethical dilemmas taught in ethics courses.
The series reveals sophisticated research. The writers hired a philosopher, and one episode entitled “The Trolley Problem” not only encapsulates a classic ethical conundrum, it also won a Hugo Award. The trolley problem asks whether it's justified to kill one person to save five lives.
(review excerpted from The Conversation a publication from the academic and research community, written by Christine Jamieson, PhD, Associate professor, Dept. of Theological Studies, Concordia University and Matthew Anderson, affiliate Professor, Theological Studies, Loyola College for Diversity & Sustainability; Honorary Research Fellow, University of Nottingham UK, Concordia University) For full article see:
Christine Jamieson, PhD and Matthew Anderson