House and philosophy: everybody lies PDF
Preview House and philosophy: everybody lies
PHILOSOPHY/POP CULTURE IRWIN Is being nice overrated? Are we really just selfi sh, base animals crawling H across Earth in a meaningless existence? Would reading less and watching more television O be good for you? U Is House a master of Eastern philosophy S or just plain rude? E 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 A N gray matter and ego? This book takes a deeper look at House to reveal the D P philosophical underpinnings of this popular medical drama and its cane-waving H curmudgeon’s most outrageous behavior. What emerges is a remarkable I L character who is part Sherlock Holmes, part Socratic philosopher, part O Nietzschean superman, part Taoist rhetorician, and not at all as screwed up S as you might think. With everything from Aristotle to Zen, House and Philosophy O takes an engaging look at everyone’s favorite misanthropic genius and his team P H at Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital. Y E HENRY JACOBY teaches philosophy at East Carolina University. He has V E published articles on the philosophy of mind and contributed to South Park R and Philosophy. He lives in Goldsboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kathryn, Y B and their two cats, Bunkai and Willow. O D WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King’s College, Pennsylvania. Y He has coedited The Simpsons and Philosophy and edited Seinfeld and L I Philosophy, The Matrix and Philosophy, and Metallica and Philosophy. E S $17.95 USA / $19.95 CAN COVER DESIGN: PAUL McCARTHY COVER IMAGES: © GETTY IMAGES EDITED BY JACOBY ffttoocc..iinndddd vviiiiii 99//1177//0088 1111::3388::1199 AAMM H O U S E A N D P H I L O S O P H Y ffffiirrss..iinndddd ii 99//1177//0088 1111::3377::4466 AAMM The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series Series Editor: William Irwin South Park and Philosophy Edited by Robert Arp Metallica and Philosophy Edited by William Irwin Family Guy and Philosophy Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski The Daily Show and Philosophy Edited by Jason Holt Lost and Philosophy Edited by Sharon Kaye 24 and Philosophy Edited by Richard Davis, Jennifer Hart Week, and Ronald Weed Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy Edited by Jason T. Eberl The Offi ce and Philosophy Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski Batman and Philosophy Edited by Mark D. White and Robert Arp Heroes and Philosophy Edited by David Kyle Johnson ffffiirrss..iinndddd iiii 99//1177//0088 1111::3377::4466 AAMM H O U S E A N D P H I L O S O P H Y EVE RYB O DY LI E S Edited by Henry Jacoby John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ffffiirrss..iinndddd iiiiii 99//1177//0088 1111::3377::4466 AAMM Copyright © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmit- ted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scan- ning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifi cally disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fi tness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profi t or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: House and philosophy : everybody lies / edited by Henry Jacoby. p. cm. — (The Blackwell philosophy and pop culture series) Includes index. ISBN 978-0-470-31660-3 (pbk.) 1. House, M. D. I. Jacoby, Henry. PN1992.77.H63H65 2008 791.45'72—dc22 2008016842 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ffffiirrss..iinndddd iivv 99//1177//0088 1111::3377::4477 AAMM CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: What? You Want Me to Thank You? ix Introduction: Read Less, More TV: A Cranky, Slightly Rude Introduction 1 Henry Jacoby PART ONE “HUMANITY IS OVERRATED”: HOUSE ON LIFE 1 Selfi sh, Base Animals Crawling Across the Earth: House and the Meaning of Life 5 Henry Jacoby 2 House and Sartre: “Hell Is Other People” 17 Jennifer L. McMahon 3 Is There a Superman in the House?: A Nietzschean Point of View 30 David Goldblatt 4 House and Moral Luck 39 Jane Dryden v ffttoocc..iinndddd vv 99//1177//0088 1111::3388::1199 AAMM vi CONTENTS PART TWO “WELCOME TO THE END OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS:” HOUSE’S LOGIC AND METHOD 5 The Logic of Guesswork in Sherlock Holmes and House 55 Jerold J. Abrams 6 It Explains Everything! 71 Barbara Anne Stock 7 The Sound of One House Clapping: The Unmannerly Doctor as Zen Rhetorician 84 Jeffrey C. Ruff and Jeremy Barris 8 “Being Nice Is Overrated”: House and Socrates on the Necessity of Confl ict 98 Melanie Frappier 9 Is There a Daoist in the House? 112 Peter Vernezze PART THREE “IT IS THE NATURE OF MEDICINE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO SCREW UP”: HOUSE AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES 10 “You Care for Everybody”: Cameron’s Ethics of Care 125 Renee Kyle 11 To Intubate or Not to Intubate: House’s Principles and Priorities 137 Barbara Anne Stock and Teresa Blankmeyer Burke 12 House and Medical Paternalism: “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” 150 Mark R. Wicclair ffttoocc..iinndddd vvii 99//1177//0088 1111::3388::1199 AAMM CONTENTS vii 13 If the End Doesn’t Justify the Means, Then What Does? 164 Catherine Sartin 14 House vs. Tritter: On the Clash of Theoretical and Practical Authority 174 Kenneth Ehrenberg PART FOUR “THE DRUGS DON’T MAKE ME HIGH, THEY MAKE ME NEUTRAL”: VIRTUES AND CHARACTER ON HOUSE 15 House and the Virtue of Eccentricity 187 John R. Fitzpatrick 16 Love: The Only Risk House Can’t Take 198 Sara Protasi 17 A Prescription for Friendship 209 Sara Waller 18 Diagnosing Character: A House Divided? 222 Heather Battaly and Amy Coplan CONTRIBUTORS: Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital Staff 239 INDEX: Index of Differential Diagnoses 247 ffttoocc..iinndddd vviiii 99//1177//0088 1111::3388::1199 AAMM ffttoocc..iinndddd vviiiiii 99//1177//0088 1111::3388::1199 AAMM
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