Summary: A collection of essays that either point out philosophical ideas within Ted Lasso, use Ted Lasso to teach philosophical concepts or more broadly use philosophy as part of classic art (TV?) criticism.
I know about this book because of the online magazine, Christ and Pop Culture. I have been a reader for about a decade or so and a participant in their facebook discussion group for most of that time. Two of the members of that group were a married couple who taught philosophy and english. David and Marybeth Baggett have since left teaching and both started law school, but before they left they co-edited Ted Lasso and Philosophy.
Ted Lasso and Philosophy is a collection of twenty essays. With any essay collection, there is always some unevenness. But I think naturally when three different types of essays are included, any reader will have more attraction to a particular type of essay that they like more so this isn’t as much about some essays being weaker than others as much as it is that some people will be attracted to different styles.
Personally I think I like the more classic art criticism essays that use philosophical reasoning to expose the depth of writing and acting in the series. That is related but not quite the same as the essays that are exposing philosophical ideas in the show. And neither of those are the same as the essays that are really 101 introductions to philosophical concepts that uses the show as illustrations for the concepts.
One example of the later is the chapter on Stoicism that uses Rebecca as an example of what a stoic believes or the exploration of whether or not Ted fits the definition of a Egoist or if Isaac is an example of the concept of Dao. Or if Beard’s statement about the world just being an AI simulation is potentially true.
An example of the middle type would be an exploration of the concept of personal development (the Lasso Way) within the show. I think one of the better essays of the book is whether Beard or Ted is right about the role of winning and personal development in sports.
The chapter on how music is used in the show (chapter 13) I think is classic art criticism, while I think the chapter on the role of friendship in the show alternates between classic art criticism and the exploration of friendship through the lens of philosophy.
Generally, I think Ted Lasso and Philosophy was a successful book because it made me think about the show more deeply and made me want to go back and watch it again. Once I finished the book I binged the first half of the first season over a couple of days and I am going to keep watching the show, albeit more slowly, to prepare for the release of the fourth season. The book was clearly written after the end of the third season. It was published in December 2023. There isn’t a specific release date for season four yet, but it is generally expected to release in the second half of 2026.
Ted Lasso and Philosophy: No Question Is Into Touch Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook