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

Philosophy can be complex but the book presents the info in a very digestible manner. As a Good Place fan, I enjoyed how it ties multiple examples from the show to each of the concepts.

The beauty of “The Good Place” is that it overtly tackles philosophy, but the emphasis is always on comedy. I read this book hoping it would enhance my enjoyment of the show, but the opposite occurred. I thought the essays were somewhat dull and offered few new insights. Many of them focused on the same concepts so were redundant. This is not a bad compendium to the show. I think the essays were accessible to a non-philosopher like me. They just read a bit like homework, ultimately making the book a chore to finish.

This was a present for a fan of the show and it helped non-philosophy majors understand some of the concepts in a fun and entertaining way.

I was really looking forward to this book, and I was profoundly disappointed to find that it is written like one of those awful search-engine-optimized web pages that theoretically is going to tell you how to make a pie, but which instead is packed with fluff designed to help the page come up in searches.

If you're a fan of the show, this is a great book that dives deeper into the philosophical content of the show. A general interest in philosophy is required, but you probably already have that if you enjoyed the show

The sample ends before the actual book even starts.

I recommend you to order “Forking Trolley” first because it explains more clearly things that you’ll need to know if you want to understand this amazing book such as consequentialism, utilitarianism, deontology, nihilism, etc. Once you understood everything you will love this book and it is SO FORKING INTERESTING ! Fully recommend;)

As a huge fan of The Good Place I knew the jokes were funny and I knew the characters were wonderfully written and acted by a great cast and crew, But what I was less sure of was the whole philosophical leanings of the show, I knew some of the names obviously but not with a deep understanding of what they believed in.This book rights those wrongs and brings a deeper understanding of Kant, Hill, Plato etc, understanding some of these arguments about choices, morality, ethics etc as discussed by many incredibly intelligent and literate people makes for a deeper understanding of the show and helps it to not only become even funnier but it also lends it more of a tragic element that may have been played purely for laughs originally but bring more depth to certain characters who seemed initially shallow and hard to sympathise with.This is a far more interesting and engaging read than the other book in this series which looked at Saturday Night Live, I think if you love The Good Place and want to understand the characters and creators motivations more to improve your understanding of the show itself then this is an essential read and if you were just a casual fan of the show but were intrigued by its philosophical bent then this is also an essential read for you too.

I read ‘The Good Place and Philosophy’ after watching (and loving) the series on Netflix. I have an interest in the field of philosophy resulting in me being drawn into the series and then book. As a programme, the philosophical content in The Good Life is brief and anecdotal, yet I fount it exciting to hear the names/ works of philosophers mentioned as a central part of a mainstream Netflix series. The book gives a deeper insight into the analysis of various concepts used in the programme. Despite this, the book still manages to keep the fun element that was captured in the programme by not being overly academic or complex.I would recommend the book to anyone who has enjoyed the Netlix series as for someone who has studies the subject of philosophy, it offered a light- hearted philosophical insight, and for someone who has not read much philosophy, it would give a good and readable entry into some interested philosophical ideas/ thinkers – all while referring to The Good Place series.

I did not realise when I ordered this book that it was based on four seasons of an American sitcom tv show. I have a general interest in philosophy, but not a professional one, consequently, I found this book a rather difficult read as I am not familiar enough with the programme or the theories to do it justice. However, I found the editor’s introduction sets out the key question underlying the book and the show - what does it mean to be a good person, and how do you do it in a difficult world - a fascinating question. The show looks at the actions of the strange characters through the lens of different philosophical ideas and in the setting of an afterlife just for those who are ethically elite. I found all the questions engaging but found I needed to read it in short bursts because of my lack of knowledge and unfamiliarity with the show - which I do hope to see one day after having my appetite whetted by this book. The book ends with the reminder that it is the unavoidable ending of our life that gives it meaning. This resonates strongly with me as I was brought up by a parent who believed that this life was just a testing ground for heaven, we got into heaven if we tried our best to be good here. Being good meant living an honest and decent life, helping wherever you could, not harming anyone, but also leaving the larger questions to God, who will help us bear the hardships of life, therefore you don’t have to challenge the injustices yourself or try to change the systems. Leave it to God. That simple philosophy I found inadequate and painful as a child and still do. Where that leaves me in relation to ‘The Good Place’ and the questions it raises, superbly presented in this book, is a question for me to continue working through before my life’s inevitable conclusion.There are 286 pages, including notes and an index. There are 32 interesting, eminent contributors. It is a challenging, fascinating read.

I don't mind admitting that I was late to The Good Place parade. I hadn't even heard of it until its penultimate season, but based on the (inaccurate) descriptions I'd heard it sounded like yet another twee, anti-humour US sitcom. I started watching (from the start) just as the final season appeared on Netflix and loved it from episode one - it's mixture of smarts and low-brow humour just the sort of thing I love and in some ways comparable to South Park. The Good Place also has liberal helpings of genuine emotion too as the story arc progresses, as well as the benefit of a great cast.I had been tracking this book for a while before it was released, unsure if it was going to be an extension of the show, some sort of pseudo sequel mixed with philosophical musings, or an outright text on moral quandaries. It's not a sequel or an extension, instead it further investigates many of the show's examples of right and wrong, the decisions certain characters face, the pursuit of happiness, and our attempts at reaching some sort of 'Good Place', all the while citing the many philosophers and texts mentioned in the show, while further expanding those concepts. It turns out to be a very good introduction to these concepts and is more engaging than most of the texts I had to plod through in my first year of University. For the longer term student of such matters, there isn't a lot of new ground here, but if you are an existing fan of the show it should be interesting and entertaining to witness these through the eyes of the show's creator and characters.