I'm a big fan of the various series of books on philosophy and popular culture. (There are three such series that I'm aware of: "Popular Culture and Philosophy" from Open Court Publishing, the "Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series" from Wiley, and "The Philosophy of Popular Culture" from The University of Kentucky.) All of these series use popular culture -- TV shows, movies, music, popular books, sports, fads, etc. -- to illustrate important issues in philosophy and ethics. I have read several of the books in these series, and have been very impressed with all of them. I especially enjoyed reading "House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies" (which is part of the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series). As a lifelong student of philosophy, and a huge fan of the TV series "House, M.D.", I had to get this book.
"House, M.D." is a show about Dr. Gregory House, a brilliant but misanthropic diagnostician with a razor sharp wit and a contemptuous disregard for the feelings of others. House has little use for hospital rules or medical ethics. He openly rebels against any form of authority that would attempt to interfere with his ability to do what he thinks is best. He abuses his staff, insults his patients, manipulates his friends, alienates everyone who cares about him, ridicules anyone who disagrees with him, and takes pleasure in making others as miserable as he is. He is an unrepentant drug addict, a heavy drinker, and a frequent client of prostitutes. He is a militant atheist with nothing but contempt for religion and conventional morality. He will not hesitate to break the law or violate other people's rights in order to get what he wants. He can be brutally honest or a boldfaced liar, depending on his mood and his motives. House is basically a sociopath. He also saves lives. He does it by solving medical mysteries that completely baffle other doctors. Although he doesn't really care about his patients as human beings, he is an obsessive puzzle solver; and he will not rest until he has figured out what is wrong and how to treat it. You wouldn't want House as your family doctor. But, if you were dying of a mysterious illness, you would definitely want House on the case.
As you might imagine, this show raises a number of fascinating ethical and philosophical issues. Many of these issues are explored in this wonderful book: "House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies". One thing I really like about the essays in this book is that they are very well written and accessible, even to someone with no background in philosophy or medical ethics. Some of the other philosophy and popular culture books I have read have included essays that dealt with fairly esoteric philosophical issues, and would be more suitable for readers who have a fairly strong background in philosophy. But this book avoids that. I think that anyone who is a fan of "House, M.D." will find this book engaging, entertaining, enlightening, and easy to follow, even if they've never taken a single class in philosophy or ethics.
One caveat though: While you don't have to have a background in philosophy in order to understand and enjoy this book, you do need to have at least a basic familiarity with the TV show "House, M.D." -- its premise, its characters, the overall story arc, etc. If you're new to the show, then you may want to wait until you've watched at least the first three seasons before you try to tackle this book. (Note that the book deals mainly with themes from the first three seasons of the show; though there are a few references to events from the early episodes of the fourth season.) I would highly recommend this book for all "House, M.D." fans -- especially those with an interest in philosophy and ethics.
