The Good Wife and Philosophy: Temptations of Saint Alicia

The Good Wife gives us courtroom battles in the tradition of Perry Mason, with the added dimension of a political intrigue and a tormented personal story. We witness the interplay between common morality and legal correctness; sometimes following one violates the other. The book analyzes serious issues of public policy such as the death penalty, privacy, collateral damage in war, intellectual property, and the interaction between politics and personal morals. Yet it also goes beyond these to apply philosophy to more personal dilemmas, like the competing demands of work and family and the conflicting loyalties of colleagues and friends.