The thing that most bugs me about Chidi is that he’s a Kantian who discovers that the universe judges you based on utilitarianism, and he don’t have much of a reaction to that.
The thing that most bugs me about Chidi is that he’s a Kantian who discovers that the universe judges you based on utilitarianism, and he don’t have much of a reaction to that.
I mean that is after a demon made him run over hundreds of people and he went through countless iterations of "kinder psychological torture" so maybe at that point it was just "whatever, sure, okay, accountants from the 70s rate sex acts, that tracks" 😅
He says he's a Kantian but his fundamental indecisiveness shows him pulling philosophic ideas from damn near everywhere. Then when he comes together with all of his past experiences I'm pretty sure he lands on what I can only describe as a hybrid of existentialism, virtue ethics and Buddhism.
I mean, I feel like that’s an issue with how the character is written.
I think it makes sense for him to DESCRIBE himself as Kantian. For someone who struggles to make choices, it's awfully appealing! But that same indecisiveness makes him too open-minded to really follow any school too much. That's my read of his character, anyway.
I disagree, as a Kantian, I'm prepared to learn I was wrong in the afterlife. I know I'm just guessing 😂
He doesn’t say he was wrong! He continues work on Kantianism!
Ah, ok. True. Also, this conversation reminds me of this old South Park bit:
therefore, we need another season of that show for Chidi to come up with his revised position.
Yes, but in my version the universe has to come up with its revised version
"fair"
I don't think a Kantian *should* be bothered by that? the way the universe judges you is a mere consequence, it doesn't affect the goodness of your will (I have only seen a tiny smidgen of this and may be misunderstanding the point)
Well, you’re getting rewarded or punished for things that wouldn’t be good (to him). I feel like he’d say that’s fucked up at some point.
“Chidi, if the points system told you to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge…”
Right?!?!
There was also this: bsky.app/profile/paul...
Yes’
holy shit you're right Well, possible counterargument The scoreboard that got them into The Good Place isn't morality? It suffers from the euthyphro dilemma I think
They talk about it as morality though!
They can be wrong! Okay: once you're IN the Good Place, your score doesn't matter, right? You're done. So do any actions in the Good Place have any moral importance?
(Goes to turn Janet off)
It’s part of the show that it starts mattering for the four of them. But he would be saying stuff like “that’s not what good is!”
Poor Chidi is woefully deprived of smug clever undergraduates like me
*doesn’t, my god my typos
Edited to add: Norman Alexander Gibbs and Al White, who will feast forever in Comedy Valhalla
Okay, but maybe he don't, too