'The Good Place': Philosophy in Popular Culture

by Emily Curwood

There has always been a stigma surrounding philosophy and its beliefs, people often view the subject as a labyrinth of juxtaposing ideas, the definition of philosophy itself seems to be a long unending sequence of words; Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. As a result, many see studying or immersing oneself in philosophy as counterproductive, an endless discussion and a trail of counterarguments with no end in sight. Furthermore, others see it as simply unnecessary, citing the fact that these often-existential questions have no impact on our lives so doesn’t need to be discussed or are ‘too deep’ or ‘too depressing’ to talk about. However, philosophy is important, not necessarily on what it contains or the questions it asks but the way of thinking it introduces. The critical thinking and deeper analysis on matters that philosophy focuses around can be applied to normal day to day occurrences, something that does have an impact on our lives. 

The Good Place uses philosophy to assert this concept, using the many different beliefs or philosophers as a tool to develop an episode, turning the subject into something that provides a deeper meaning regarding the shows plot. In one episode the argument of free will vs determinism is used by the main antagonist bringing about the idea that all our actions are predetermined and influenced by our environment, genetics and upbringing- the definition she reads out of a book called “Philosophy for Dingdongs” states “Determinism is the theory that we have no control over our own actions, everything we do happens because of some external force, which exists outside of our control”. This statement that there is no such thing as free will is integrated into the episode and used in relatable circumstances to allow the viewer to understand complex philosophical debates; when she is asked if she would like a drink she answers, “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. But whatever I choose will be the result of millions of biological, genetic and societal factors that are entirely outside my control”.

But the real success of The Good Place and why is has had such an impact on the television world is because it goes beyond raising the philosophical questions we have asked and been trying to answer for thousands of years and provides their own answer. The whole show centralises on the possibly one of the most discussed questions; what happens after we die. While at first the answer the show provides seems ridiculous and has solely comedic purposes it evolves into something more complex, something that makes the viewer think in that critical way. The show makes it clear that something that seems justifiable on the surface always leads down of path of questions and issues, take heaven (or ‘the good place’) as an example; it is viewed, on the surface, as a place which one could never be sad or discontent, that surely having everything you ever wanted is the ultimate goal. But the oxymoron that having everything you could ever dream of and it being terrible is thought-provoking; the fact that when you have everything in the palm of your hand the satisfaction dwindles and the enjoyment of the achievement is so common and completely undermined that it disappears. And that it why philosophy is portrayed with such success in this programme, not just because it simplifies it down and makes it relatable to everyday scenarios but because of the way it makes us ask questions, and come to answers, we never thought we would.