The Good Place is a comedy packed with philosophical questions. Four individuals end up meeting in the afterlife and embark on a surreal journey to become better people. Here are a handful of the major philosophical themes that crop up throughout the series.
Free Will vs. Determinism
In season three, Elenor breaks down when she comes to the conclusion that every decision she has ever made is a product of her biology or her environment. With a superior being interfering with human actions on Earth, it’s hard not to question the subject of free will.
The Metaphysics of Identity
Every time the humans get rebooted, a new version of them is created. This raises questions of which is the “real” version and what it is that ties identity together. If two versions of Chidi possess different memories, are they really the same person?
Deontology
Deontology is the system of ethics where actions are either good or bad in and of themselves. For Chidi, lying is always wrong, which poses a problem when his inability to tell a lie becomes a matter of life or death.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism, on the other hand, is a system of ethics based on the consequences of actions. An action is not good or bad in itself, it is good or bad based on how much harm or good it brings.
Ethical Dessert
The “Ethical Dessert” dilemma is the problem of whether an action can truly be good if it is done for the sake of reward. If Elenor is only good so that she can get good points and go to The Good Place, are her actions truly good?
Existentialism
In season two, Michael has an existential breakdown when he realizes that one day he will die and so, ultimately, nothing really matters. Existentialism is the philosophy that humans define their own meaning of life, which is an important theme on the show.
The Good Place‘s fourth and final season begins September 26th.
