What′s Good on TV? – Understanding Ethics Through Television

<p>Preface xi</p>
<p>The Pilot Episode: Ethics and Popular Culture 1</p>
<p>What is Ethics? 1</p>
<p>How Do We Make Progress in Ethics ? 9</p>
<p>What Does Pop Culture Have to Do with Ethics? 29</p>
<p>Series I. Is Anything "Good" on Television?</p>
<p>The Nature of Moral Value</p>
<p>Episode 1: Truth and Nihilism in Ethics 33</p>
<p>Introduction 33</p>
<p>The case for nihilism 39</p>
<p>J. L. Mackie, The Argument from Queerness, from Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong 39</p>
<p>The case for realism 41</p>
<p>C. S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity 41</p>
<p>Case study: The Office (UK), Work Experience, series 1 43</p>
<p>Study questions 45</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 46</p>
<p>Episode 2: Normativity Social, Legal, and Moral 47</p>
<p>Introduction 47</p>
<p>You promised to play by the rules! 50</p>
<p>John Rawls, Legal Obligation and the Duty of Fair Play 50</p>
<p>What does my neighbor have to do with my goodness? 55</p>
<p>John Stuart Mill, Of the Limits to the Authority of Society over the Individual from On Liberty 55</p>
<p>Case study: The Sopranos, College, season 1 57</p>
<p>Study questions 60</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 60</p>
<p>Episode 3: God and Ethics 61</p>
<p>Introduction 61</p>
<p>What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? 65</p>
<p>Plato, Euthyphro 65</p>
<p>Does God make the law or does he just let us in on it? 69</p>
<p>C. S. Lewis, from The Problem of Pain 69</p>
<p>Case study: Law &amp; Order, God Bless the Child, season 2 73</p>
<p>Study questions 75</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 76</p>
<p>Series II. What′s Right and Wrong? Ethical Theory</p>
<p>Episode 4: Moral Relativism 79</p>
<p>Introduction 79</p>
<p>Are we merely products of our culture? 83</p>
<p>Ruth Benedict, A Defense of Ethical Relativism 83</p>
<p>Relativism is unjustified 86</p>
<p>James Rachels, The Challenge of Cultural Relativism 86</p>
<p>Case study 1: Deadwood, Childish Things, season 2 91</p>
<p>Case study 2: South Park, Death Camp of Tolerance, season 6 93</p>
<p>Study questions 95</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 95</p>
<p>Episode 5: Deontology 97</p>
<p>Introduction 97</p>
<p>Kant s theory of moral duty 98</p>
<p>Immanuel Kant, from Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals 98</p>
<p>Case study 1: Arrested Development, Not without My Daughter, season 1 105</p>
<p>Contemporary Deontology 109</p>
<p>Case study 2: Friends, The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS, season 5 109</p>
<p>Study questions 112</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 113</p>
<p>Episode 6: Consequentialism 114</p>
<p>Introduction 114</p>
<p>Mill s theory of utility 115</p>
<p>John Stuart Mill, from Utilitarianism 115</p>
<p>Case study 1: Battlestar Galactica, You Can t Go Home Again, season 1 127</p>
<p>Case study 2: The Twilight Zone (Newer), Cradle of Darkness, season 1 129</p>
<p>Study questions 131</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 132</p>
<p>Episode 7: Virtue Ethics 133</p>
<p>Introduction 133</p>
<p>Aristotle s theory of virtue 134</p>
<p>Aristotle, from Nicomachean Ethics 134</p>
<p>Case study 1: Foyle s War, Enemy Fire, set 3 143</p>
<p>Case study 2: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hide and Q, season 1 147</p>
<p>Study questions 151</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 152</p>
<p>Series III. But What′s Right When . . . ? Practical Ethics</p>
<p>Episode 8: Environmental Ethics 155</p>
<p>Introduction 155</p>
<p>Two Approaches to Environmental Ethics 157</p>
<p>Silly environmentalists, nature is for people 160</p>
<p>William Baxter, People or Penguins 160</p>
<p>Case study 1: Northern Exposure, Zarya, season 6 162</p>
<p>Case study 2: Family Guy, It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One, season 5 165</p>
<p>Study questions 168</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 169</p>
<p>Episode 9: Animal Welfare 170</p>
<p>Introduction 170</p>
<p>Two Dead Ends 171</p>
<p>Three Approaches to Animal Welfare 173</p>
<p>Animals are morally valuable, but not as valuable as adult humans 179</p>
<p>Mary Anne Warren, Difficulties with the Strong Rights Position 179</p>
<p>Case study 1: Bones, Finger in the Nest, season 4 182</p>
<p>Case study 2: House, M.D., Babies and Bathwater, season 1 184</p>
<p>Study questions 187</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 188</p>
<p>Episode 10: Abortion 189</p>
<p>Introduction 189</p>
<p>One Common Assumption 190</p>
<p>Six Fallacies to Avoid 191</p>
<p>Judith Jarvis Thomson and the Violinist Argument 197</p>
<p>Mary Anne Warren and the Space Explorer 200</p>
<p>Abortion is wrong for the same reason that killing adults is wrong 202</p>
<p>Don Marquis, Why Abortion is Immoral 202</p>
<p>Case study 1: Law &amp; Order, Dignity, season 20 203</p>
<p>Case study 2: Maude, Maude s Dilemma Parts 1 and 2, season 1 206</p>
<p>Study questions 208</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 209</p>
<p>Episode 11: Homosexuality 210</p>
<p>Introduction 210</p>
<p>Arguments Against the Permissibility of Homosexuality 213</p>
<p>Arguments for the Permissibility of Homosexuality 216</p>
<p>Additional Concerns 220</p>
<p>New natural law theory and the morality of homosexuality 220</p>
<p>Stephen Macedo, Homosexuality and the Conservative Mind ; Robert George and Bradley Gerard, Marriage and the Liberal Imagination 220</p>
<p>Case study 1: Law &amp; Order, Manhood, season 3 225</p>
<p>Case study 2: Family Guy, You May Now Kiss the . . . Uh . . . Guy Who Receives, season 4 227</p>
<p>Study questions 230</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 231</p>
<p>Episode 12: Punishment and Capital Punishment 232</p>
<p>Introduction 232</p>
<p>Theories of Punishment 234</p>
<p>Arguments For and Against Capital Punishment 241</p>
<p>Capital punishment is unjustified 244</p>
<p>Jeffrey Reiman, The Justice of the Death Penalty in an Unjust World 244</p>
<p>Case study 1: Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Hunted, season 3 246</p>
<p>Case study 2: Oz, Capital P, season 1 249</p>
<p>Study questions 252</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 253</p>
<p>Episode 13: Assisted Suicide 254</p>
<p>Introduction 254</p>
<p>A Few Terms 255</p>
<p>Three Moral Arguments Against the Permissibility of Assisted Suicide 256</p>
<p>Moral and Practical Arguments for the Permissibility of Assisted Suicide 260</p>
<p>The good of society depends on assisted suicide 261</p>
<p>Daniel Callahan, Aging and the Ends of Medicine 261</p>
<p>Case study 1: Picket Fences, Abominable Snowman, season 2 262</p>
<p>Case study 2: Scrubs, My Jiggly Ball, season 5 266</p>
<p>Study questions 268</p>
<p>Alternative case studies 269</p>
<p>The Epilogue: Does TV Erode Our Values? 270</p>
<p>The Moral Influence of Television 270</p>
<p>The Debate Over Censorship 271</p>
<p>A Kantian Reason not to Censor 272</p>
<p>Case study 1: Family Guy, PTV, season 4 273</p>
<p>Utilitarian Reasons not to Censor 274</p>
<p>Moral Reasons to Censor 275</p>
<p>Exploitation, Objectification, and TV 277</p>
<p>Case study 2: Toddlers &amp; Tiaras (any episode) 279</p>
<p>Reality TV and Psychological Harm 283</p>
<p>That s All Folks! 286</p>
<p>Study questions 286</p>
<p>References 288</p>
<p>Index 295</p>