Henry Jacoby 
House and Philosophy 
Everybody Lies

HOUSE AND PHILOSOPHY

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.

To learn more about the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series,

visit www.andphilosophy.com

Table of Content

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 Selfish, 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. Mc Mahon

3 Is There a Superman in the House?: A Nietzschean Point of View 30
David Goldblatt

4 House and Moral Luck 39
Jane Dryden

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 Conflict 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

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

About the author

HENRY JACOBY teaches philosophy at East Carolina University. He has published articles on the philosophy of mind and contributed to South Park and Philosophy. He lives in Goldsboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kathryn, and their two cats, Bunkai and Willow.

WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King’s College. He originated the philosophy and pop culture gentre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles, including Watchmen and Philosophy, House and Philosophy, and Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy.