The Good Place

The Committee: The committee will explore thought-provoking topics in "The Good Place", a TV show that blends comedy and romance with deep ethical and philosophical questions. The show surrounds four humans who, after dying, mistakenly end up in "The Good Place", a supposed "Heaven" only for the most morally exceptional humans. The humans find out the fake "Good Place" was really used to torture them by the architect, Michael. The humans are faced with a number of ethical dilemmas where they explore redemption, morality, and even the meaning of existence. The show highlights the ethical imperfections of the world where even some of the simplest good actions like buying an organic tomato have moral complexities. Ultimately, “The Good Place” shows that being “good” in society is so much more complex, leading us to think about decision making and real-world challenges we face and continue to solve.

The Topic: The Committee will begin after the finale of Season 4 of “The Good Place”, so all information prior will be useful. All of the positions in the committee will be immortal however key humans such as Doug Forcett will be crucial in discussion. Doug Forcett accurately guessed the afterlife’s nature on Earth and therefore became a celebrity after sharing his findings. He discovered the idea of the afterlife’s point system, and therefore to receive the most amount of points he lived a morally perfect life. He grew pesticide-free food in his own home, ensuring ethical production, he supported his community, and so much more. However, despite his decades of efforts, he still lacked the needed number of points to get into the Good Place, highlighting the systematic flaws of the point system. During his time on Earth, Doug founded the Religion of Doug, which outlines his afterlife theory which spread to millions, so that they could all enter the Good Place. His message encouraged and uplifted others through good deeds, ethically sourced food, and essentially a lifestyle of underconsumption. His followers engaged in community projects, such as trash pickups and gardening to help the world flourish. The issue, however, comes from the fact that nobody's points will ever grow if their intentions are rooted in selfishness, meaning the only reason they are doing these good acts is to eventually get into the Good Place. This leads to competition and cutthroat behavior amongst Doug’s followers. The participants in this committee are tasked with solving the issue that now nobody is getting into the Good Place because their points become obsolete once they know about the afterlife. How will we stop the religion from furthering? How will we know who truly is good and who is bad?