Better Call Sauland Philosophy: I Think Therefore I Scam is a collection of twenty-three essaysexploring the philosophical themes in the hit television show Better CallSaul, a prequel to the TV show Breaking Bad. The sixth and final season of Better CallSaul aired from April to August 2022.The central character is JimmyMcGill, whom we know from Breaking Bad as Saul Goodman. In Better Call Saul he first takes thename of Saul Goodman from the phrase “S’all Good, Man!” Jimmy/Saul is a naturalcon artist who not only scams from self-interest but also because he enjoys it.He has a strange relationship with his brother, the distinguished lawyerCharles McGill, who resents Jimmy’s delinquency and advantage in parentalaffection. Jimmy/Saul becomes a lawyer for a drug cartel, and most of the peoplehe meets are criminals and other kinds of villains.Like Breaking Bad, BetterCall Saul raises a wide range of philosophical issues including the natureof good and evil, personal identity, free will and determinism, the law as itrelates to morality, the ethical implications of the war on drugs, death anddying, and many more. Better Call Saul and Philosophy offers thoughtfulfans of the show deeper and more provocative insights into the story and thecharacters. Topics covered include: the moralityof keeping promises to wrongdoers, the nature of psychosomatic illness,difficult moral choices facing lawyers, just how good or bad are some of thecompromised characters in the show, the unintended consequences of the War onDrugs, the similarities between drug cartels and governments, whether badpeople are just unlucky, the perils of self-deception, and whether we everreally have much of a choice.Better Call Saul and Philosophyis Volume 8 in the path-breaking series, Pop Culture and Philosophy.
