As Chidi often reminds us: no one likes a moral philosophy professor. And yet here we are, awaiting season four, eager to resume Chidi’s lessons in ethics and find out what happens to the four most individually annoying but collectively wonderful characters imagination can think up.

Although The Good Place brushes over questions of religion and lightly plays with a bizarre notion of God, it takes moral ethics entirely seriously. In fact, what we end up hoping for the characters is not that the characters will receive their traditional “happy ending,” but that they will succeed in becoming better people. That’s ultimately what the show is about. And while yes, we are rooting for the characters to make it into The Good Place, the show is far more focused on moral behavior and life on Earth.

In Chidi’s lessons, he lays down the law for two core principals of ethics. The first is a deontological system, which swears by actions being good or bad in themselves. This is the ethical system that Chidi himself subscribes to, which means he believes in doing the right thing, regardless of the consequences.

In college philosophy classes, teachers like to play out scenarios where lying – which is deontologically wrong – may be the best thing to do in a given situation. In The Good Place, the scenario is one where Chidi is surrounded by demons and must go undercover to save his friends. And that’s where entertainment meets education.

The second system of ethics Chidi focuses on is utilitarianism – the belief that the right action is the one that causes the greatest good for the greatest number of individuals.

A typical moral philosophy professor response to this system is the trolley problem. Do you allow a trolley to run over five people or do you pull a lever to divert the trolley and kill one person?

In season two, Michael plays out the problem for real and Chidi ends up with blood and guts all over his face when he delays making a decision. In this way, the series reminds us that thinking about moral philosophy is never the same as actually acting it out.

The Good Place explores many different angles of moral philosophy, but it does not give away any answers. As the series progresses, it demonstrates more and more how being a good person is a complicated affair. Furthermore, it’s only when we realize the characters have moral flaws that we are able to fully relate to them.

Ultimately, The Good Place is not about life after death, but about living our lives on Earth to the best of our ability. And that’s why it’s the best moral philosophy sitcom on NBC.

The post Let’s Talk About… Moral Philosophy In “The Good Place” appeared first on Entertainment For Us.

Multiple outlets reports that The Goof Place will end after its fourth season. News of the cancelation was announced Friday night at the Television Academy by series creator and exec producer Michael Schur. 

“After The Good Place was picked up for season two, the writing staff and I began to map out, as best we could, the trajectory of the show,” Schur said in a statement.

“Given the ideas we wanted to explore, and the pace at which we wanted to present those ideas, I began to feel like four seasons—just over 50 episodes—was the right lifespan. At times over the past few years we’ve been tempted to go beyond four seasons, but mostly because making this show is a rare, creatively fulfilling joy, and at the end of the day, we don’t want to tread water just because the water is so warm and pleasant. As such, the upcoming fourth season will be our last.”

The critically acclaimed series stars Kristen Bell and Ted Danson and follows s a group of humans in the afterlife. D’Arcy Carden, Manny Jacinto, William Jackson Harper and Jameela Jamil also star. 

The Good Place returns for its fourth and now final season this fall. 

The post “The Good Place” to End After Season 4 appeared first on Entertainment For Us.

As Chidi often reminds us: no one likes a moral philosophy professor. And yet here we are, awaiting season four, eager to resume Chidi’s lessons in ethics and find out what happens to the four most individually annoying but collectively wonderful characters imagination can think up.

Although The Good Place brushes over questions of religion and lightly plays with a bizarre notion of God, it takes moral ethics entirely seriously. In fact, what we end up hoping for the characters is not that the characters will receive their traditional “happy ending,” but that they will succeed in becoming better people. That’s ultimately what the show is about. And while yes, we are rooting for the characters to make it into The Good Place, the show is far more focused on moral behavior and life on Earth.

In Chidi’s lessons, he lays down the law for two core principals of ethics. The first is a deontological system, which swears by actions being good or bad in themselves. This is the ethical system that Chidi himself subscribes to, which means he believes in doing the right thing, regardless of the consequences.

In college philosophy classes, teachers like to play out scenarios where lying – which is deontologically wrong – may be the best thing to do in a given situation. In The Good Place, the scenario is one where Chidi is surrounded by demons and must go undercover to save his friends. And that’s where entertainment meets education.

The second system of ethics Chidi focuses on is utilitarianism – the belief that the right action is the one that causes the greatest good for the greatest number of individuals.

A typical moral philosophy professor response to this system is the trolley problem. Do you allow a trolley to run over five people or do you pull a lever to divert the trolley and kill one person?

In season two, Michael plays out the problem for real and Chidi ends up with blood and guts all over his face when he delays making a decision. In this way, the series reminds us that thinking about moral philosophy is never the same as actually acting it out.

The Good Place explores many different angles of moral philosophy, but it does not give away any answers. As the series progresses, it demonstrates more and more how being a good person is a complicated affair. Furthermore, it’s only when we realize the characters have moral flaws that we are able to fully relate to them.

Ultimately, The Good Place is not about life after death, but about living our lives on Earth to the best of our ability. And that’s why it’s the best moral philosophy sitcom on NBC.

The post Let’s Talk About… Moral Philosophy In “The Good Place” appeared first on Entertainment For Us.

Multiple outlets reports that The Goof Place will end after its fourth season. News of the cancelation was announced Friday night at the Television Academy by series creator and exec producer Michael Schur. 

“After The Good Place was picked up for season two, the writing staff and I began to map out, as best we could, the trajectory of the show,” Schur said in a statement.

“Given the ideas we wanted to explore, and the pace at which we wanted to present those ideas, I began to feel like four seasons—just over 50 episodes—was the right lifespan. At times over the past few years we’ve been tempted to go beyond four seasons, but mostly because making this show is a rare, creatively fulfilling joy, and at the end of the day, we don’t want to tread water just because the water is so warm and pleasant. As such, the upcoming fourth season will be our last.”

The critically acclaimed series stars Kristen Bell and Ted Danson and follows s a group of humans in the afterlife. D’Arcy Carden, Manny Jacinto, William Jackson Harper and Jameela Jamil also star. 

The Good Place returns for its fourth and now final season this fall. 

The post “The Good Place” to End After Season 4 appeared first on Entertainment For Us.