House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies

Since 2004, House has attracted over 19 million viewers each week, and won numerous awards. Its unorthodox main character, Dr. Gregory House, is the product of refreshingly good writing and deep philosophic analysis. A brilliant pill-popping jerk, House knocks aside medical ethics with a wave of his cane, along with his medical team at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. But the show offers more than just prime time entertainment, which HOUSE AND PHILOSOPHY (Wiley, $17.95; December 2008; Paper), the latest book in the popular Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, demonstrates. 

Dr. Gregory House is arguably the most complex and challenging antihero in the history of television, but there is more to this self-important genius than gray matter and ego. HOUSE AND PHILOSOPHY 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. 

HOUSE AND PHILOSOPHY offers entertaining answers to the fascinating ethical questions viewers have had about Dr. Gregory House and his medical team. Contributors from all backgrounds discuss the unorthodox lead character and his point of view on the meaning of life, his logic of method, ethics, and virtues of character, providing careful analysis while referencing popular episodes.

It becomes clear that House is a remarkable character who is part Sherlock Holmes, part Socratic philosopher, part Nietzchean 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.