House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author), William Irwin (Editor)
Key Phrases: transplant committee, medical paternalism, theoretical authority, New York, Occam's Razor, Gregory House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

An unauthorized look at the philosophical issues raised by one of today's most popular television shows: House

House is one of the top three television dramas on the air, pulling in more than 19 million viewers for each episode. This latest book in the popular Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series takes a deeper look at the characters and issues raised in this Emmy Award-winning medical drama, offering entertaining answers to the fascinating ethical questions viewers have about Dr. Gregory House and his medical team.

Henry Jacoby (Goldsboro, NC) teaches philosophy at East Carolina University. He has published articles primarily on the philosophy of mind and was a contributor to South Park and Philosophy
(978-1-4051-6160-2).

From the Back Cover

Philosophy/Pop Culture

Is being nice overrated?

Are we really just selfish, base animals crawling across Earth in a meaningless existence?

Would reading less and watching more television be good for you?

Is House a master of Eastern philosophy or just plain rude?

Dr. Gregory House is arguably the most complex and challenging antihero in the history of television, but is there more to this self-important genius than gray matter and ego? This book takes a deeper look at House to reveal the philosophical underpinnings of this popular medical drama and its cane-waving curmudgeon's most outrageous behavior. What emerges is a remarkable character who is part Sherlock Holmes, part Socratic philosopher, part Nietzschean superman, part Taoist rhetorician, and not at all as screwed up as you might think. With everything from Aristotle to Zen, House and Philosophy takes an engaging look at everyone's favorite misanthropic genius and his team at Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (December 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470316608
• ISBN-13: 978-0470316603
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,991 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #6 in	Books > Entertainment > Television > History & Criticism
  #16 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Culture
  #45 in	Books > Entertainment > Pop Culture > Popular Culture

• This item is part of The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everybody loves somebody sometime, except you know who., January 15, 2009

By	L. Power "nlp trainer" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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Most interesting to me were the bits comparing House with Sherlock Holmes. Commonalities include love of puzzle solving, house breaking, using Macchiavellian means to get at the truth, drug use, and deductive abilities. 'Your skin is orange, that means your wife is having an affair.'

My favorite parts were the chapter on love, and the chapter on friendship by Sara Protasi, and Sara Waller respectively. I also liked the ones on Sartre, and the Ubermensch.

Although some mention is made of the Socratic Method, it would need to be explained in more detail.

On the matter of Detective Tritter, which was one of my favorite parts in the series, it does not draw any analogy between House's behavior and the Trial of Socrates, even though House seems hell bent on his own destruction, much the way Socrates was.

Even though Socrates could have escaped, his apology was so bad that more people voted for his death than voted to convict him for his crime. So he took the hemlock.

It would be interesting to see the writers of this book tackle Aristotle's poetics, and it's influence on drama and screen writing in future books. As some philosophers were also psychiatrists, it might also enliven the reader to have some psychological insight into the character.

Philosophy is not for everyone. If you are like me, you will like the deeper philosophical dialogue in House, and you may find this book gives you further food for thought, and a curiosity to explore even further.

It does take genius writing to portray a genius character, and I would like to commend the writers of House for the brilliant job they do. Just because House is often wrong doesn't mean he is not eventually right.

I hope this was helpful.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for House fans!, January 11, 2009

By	Kerrry L. Koehler "KLK" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Even if you have no interest in philosophy, this book is truly satisfying for any fan of House. Each chapter examines a different aspect of the show, while relating it to an existing philosophical theory. If you're not interested in that aspect of the show, then don't worry because the writing will not confuse you. It is well written, clear and thought out. If, however, you have an interest in philosophy, then the introduction of philosophical theories is even more interesting and makes the show even more layered and in the words of Dr. House "cool."

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for all House fans with an interest in philosophy and ethics, April 24, 2009

By	Gregory J. Casteel "Dr. Gregory J. Casteel" (Athens, AL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.