I Know You Know I'm Not Telling The Truth

Why channel surf on TV when you can just Netflix? After all, it can introduce you to all sorts of entertainment, such as the show Psych. This has quickly grown to be one of my favorite shows with the unique and quirky personalities on the cast, especially the smooth-talking "psychic," Shawn. It's entertaining to watch as he talks and bluffs his way out of all sorts of situations his "powers," i.e. photographic memory, get him into.


Not only that, but they have great stylists. I mean, look at his hair! And see how their shirts match the logo?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Psych

Although this show is enjoyable to watch, it does present a very loose and free morality when it comes to lying. Instead of just telling the authorities he has a photographic memory when he's about to be arrested, Shawn decides to pretend to be a psychic. The whole premise of the show is Shawn lying his way through social interactions to get to the bottom of the crime. In one episode he even holds a fake seance to milk his clients for information while sounding very psychic-y about it.

The audience never looks at Shawn and think about how horrible he is for lying all the time. We feel that it's justified because those police just wouldn't understand his abilities and if Shawn isn't going to solve their crimes, who is? This show really expresses a utilitarian ("the end justifies the means") sort of morality. This is a very pragmatic approach to morality that many people ascribe to without really thinking about it. As long as it turns out alright in the end, we really see no problem with all the lying and cheating that it took to get there. Unfortunately for those who ascribe to that view, it flies in the face of God's absolute moral laws. He said, "you shall not lie," not, "you shall not lie unless it gives you free reign to solve crimes."

This is why it's important to study and develop a system of morality in light of God's commands rather than allow others to develop it for you through televesion.

With that, I'll leave you with the opening credits for the show. It's a really fun song, even if it is about lying to someone to his face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f2MCUqATEs