"Everybody Lies" - A Character Comparison

[Chase]

Once upon a time, Fox used to be the broadcaster of the greatest medical drama to grace television, starring Hugh Laurie as the intelligent-yet-unlikable protagonist Dr. Gregory House.

Once upon a time, yours truly was proclaimed to be the much younger female spitting image of the same doctor.

In order to explain how I work, I figured I would recall that comparison because after connecting the dots, that assertion is actually rather on point for the most part. I'll present five positions Dr. House holds and I'll compare the similarity in the view. There will be one rather blatant disagreement, but that disagreement is held with similar disdain, so it earns itself a spot here.

Here we go.

Dr. House and Hilda Weiss both hold a strong disgust for the concept of theistic/lack of theistic beings.

"If you talk to God, you're religious....if God talks to you, you're psychotic." - Dr. House

House goes out of his way to patronize those of faith. Said faith clouds his patients and his colleagues judgement and hinders his ability to do his job. House is a firm believer in the meaning of life on Earth itself, and is a strong opponent of life being meaningless without a God figure in the picture.

I think those of you in this community know I -do- believe in a God with the same zeal, but at the time this show began to air, this wasn't always the case and this was originally an influence House had upon skeptical Hilda, which would make this a similarity back then much more so than it is now.

However, the reaction House gives believers is similar to the reaction I give inadvertently to those that identify as "Nones". Whenever I am not holding a judicious debate with non-believing opponents, and God is being brought up, my responses become acidic in the same way House's do. Who can judge my prejudices though? "We're all just mistakes anyway, there's no reason to be self-righteous, right?"

In the same way House views life as meaningful without God, I do contrast with him (albeit in similar fashion, yet again!) that life without God is indeed meaningless. Both House and I make very intellectual approaches to support our opposing viewpoints in the show and in my life. Both of us contain zeal and consistency and antagonistic attacks in our dealings with opponents when not specified to be cordial or a reasonable debate.

Dr. House and Hilda Weiss value Life over Autonomy, Justice, and Precaution.

"This is all there is."

In the show, House is often seen committing malpractice in order to solve his cases, going above the limitations provided to him by his boss, his staff, his circumstances...and even his own PATIENTS. House seemingly tries to net the saved life in every show, most of time succeeding. As a doctor, that is his job - and he will go to great lengths and ignore any unnecessary roadblock between him and doing so - or at least between him and solving the case.

"Autonomy"

Autonomy is the freedom of external control or influence, and in medicine particularly, it's the freedom of the patient to decide what happens to their body. In one episode of the show, House's patient issues a "DNR" (Do Not Resuscitate) motion - thus opting to die regardless of the case being solved or the ability to live being possible. House's views on autonomy are put to brilliant display here when in comparison to life itself. He ignores the motion on the grounds of the patients previous physician misdiagnosing him - and he ends up saving the man's life.

If you've seen the movie 'The Incredibles' - you may remember the beginning scenes of the superhero movie. Mr. Incredible, working alone, is surveying the city on his wedding day, and finds a man who appears to be standing on the ledge of a skyscraper with the intent to commit suicide. The man does indeed jump, and Mr. Incredible intervenes with the attempt by catching the man mid-fall and landing roughly in what appears to be a bank, causing the man bodily injury but preventing him from dying. However, that was the man's intent. To die. This results in Mr. Incredible being SUED by the person who's life he SAVED!

Like House and Mr. Incredible, Hilda has an aversion to total autonomy being greater than the preservation of life. My champion political issue is ending most abortion in America (a well known fact about me) and whenever pro-choicers provide the woman's autonomy into the argument, it triggers a disgusting response (save for intellectual discussions) about how the fetus isn't a part of the mother's body to begin with (rather, it's supplemented by it), and how I really don't care if you feel our right to our own bodies means the fetus doesn't have a right to their own bodies. My view on that issue is that the baby's life is worth more than the woman's right to control what happens in her own body in that instance.

"Justice"

The Hammurabi Code is one the oldest judicial documents we are aware of, establishing the "eye for an eye" policy of justice.

House doesn't do things judiciously all of the time, and cares more about solving his case than he does for things like.... fair organ distribution based on the requirements and what not. House does all that he can for his patients lives despite their deserving their right to live.

I am a strong dissenter of the death penalty, even if the defendant is a mass terrorist or serial killer with more blood on his hands than he has in his body. Life is more valuable than justice.

"Pre-Caution"

House and myself proceed in a a very "end justifies the means" procedure when it comes to saving life. Just watch....any episode of the show to see where this comes from on House's end. Erasing someone's memory to cure heart attacks? Lying to medical boards to procure organs? costing Princton-Plainsboro lots of money? This list goes on and on.

I am one who is very nearly ready to rake Planned Parenthood over the coals (going back to abortion in my case.) and while defunding the program is very drastic for lots of women (and for some reason women who aren't involved with the abortion process...Grr.) This is an area where a government shutdown and defunding is needed in my opinion. I speak harshly to those who threaten to commit suicide as opposed to cautiously. In many experiences, I would have to say that I value life over caution too.

I'm Sorry, Did I Hurt Your Feelings?

"Hell is other people." - Sartre

This one doesn't need a lot of explanation. Dr. House is not a cuddly teddy bear all of the time, and neither am I, when it comes to assessing the human condition. Both of us make disparaging remarks about idiocy, incorrectness, and the like frequently, even to the point where the individuals we interact with are emotionally damaged for it.

The point being made here is, House and Hilda have an introverted preference for data and logical reasoning over emotional discourses to the point where we become ignorant of how others feel oftentimes.

Ruthlessness Over Mercy

"This is a ruthless world and one must be ruthless in order to cope with it." - Charlie Chaplin

Now, let it be known that House would be more inclined to agree with Chaplin above, but the both of us are unfailingly unreliable when it comes to being merciful. Again, see any House episode ever on his end, and Ame can personally attest on mine.

The pursuit of Truth is the most satisfying chase...

"The un-examined life is not worth living" - Socrates "Don't you want to find out what's killing you?" - Dr. House

House may by default value the preservation of life, but if there's anything he does more-so than that, it's finding out the truth. House is a character based on the detective "Sherlock Holmes" and like Holmes, his goal is to have solved the mystery by episode's end.

In my experiences I have come to realize that I too am a truth-seeker than I am anything else. I hate being lied to. I am more interested in historical happenings than most. I am inquisitive and I take exception to bullshit quickly.

...hopefully you guys enjoyed a little bit of insight as to how I operate. Maybe you didn't.

Always remember, everybody lies. I will whenever you say something. (Ha.)

[Shamitako]

This is stupid owo

Okay, but for srs, that was an interesting read, wish I had time to actually make responsive comments... Or that I actually had seen enough of the show to know what half of this means

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

The weird part is I know it was kinda as a joke... but I remember people said I was for a bit. Multiple friend groups came to the same conclusion while I was watching the show and talking about it to people that would listen, maybe coming to the conclusion that I was basically House. I'm... still not exactly sure why in some ways.

But yea I definitely do see some parallels etc. However, do keep in mind despite how well written House is... he's still just a character. We see of him what the show wanted us to see and it was directed around this after all. Characters don't really 100% match to people because they never are truly as complex as people despite how well they are written or portrayed. We get a very imperfect picture despite everything we were given through the show. I suppose some of the left over mystery is important ((after all, we as people never truly learn every little thing aobut our friends or even family members half the time.))

But, yea super interesting read, glad I took the time lol.

[Deleted User]

The weird part is I know it was kinda as a joke... but I remember people said I was for a bit. Multiple friend groups came to the same conclusion while I was watching the show and talking about it to people that would listen, maybe coming to the conclusion that I was basically House. I'm... still not exactly sure why in some ways.

While I don't know you IRL or for many years..... I don't really see it.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

While I don't know you IRL or for many years..... I don't really see it.

Hey... don't ask me... people are weird. As I said I have 0 idea why they came up with it or where it comes from since I'm not really that way at all. But... that's from my perspective lol. Guess they just see it different or something lol.

[Gaunt]

Now i see why we disagree so much, my point of view is completely opposite for the first 2 positions while being the same as yours for the last 3.

[Chase]

Debates between truth-seekers are fun, so long as the arguments are sound. With you Gaunt, I would encourage you to bring evidences supporting your claim instead of being the pin to a balloon. That's not a debate so much as it taking a dump on the nature of the debate and doesn't really help your cause.

I do think you hold a little bit of ice as I do too, and perhaps you do lack mercy as I do.

I really, really, really can't stand ANYTHING being lifted above life outside of God Himself. It's a rather ignorant way to live in my eyes - albeit the same can be said for those like me who don't completely understand how Justice, Autonomy, or Care outweigh life itself.

[Gaunt]

I would encourage you to bring evidences supporting your claim

Oh...strange...i though i did (it wasn't 100% foolproof but still) not my fault if someone doesn't accept/acknowledge it (just like i didn't accept your "truth"), well let's just say that it happens when opposites "clash"

[Ice Cream Sand Witch]

I know it's not the main point of this thread, but I actually disagree with House's quote in the title, "Everybody lies". Or at least, I disagree that it's something people can know. The phrase makes an assumption that every single person has made a specific voluntary action before that it's entirely possible for someone to not make.

In order to prove that everyone lies, you'd have to keep track of every single person's life and make a checklist that you mark off for each person when you discover a lie.

And, even if you were able to do all that and prove it, there are still two other details to consider.

1) Just because everyone in the present has done it doesn't mean it's impossible to not do it and that someone in the future won't accomplish it. Like I said, lying is a voluntary action. There are also a lot of people that hate lying.

2) New people are born every day, so it would be a constant struggle to keep up.

I didn't mean to derail the thread. I just don't really see how a statement with the word "Everybody" in it can be proven unless it's something like "Everybody breathes".

[Chase]

Hmm, but I also think it's impossible to say that lying is always voluntary.

For example, let's bring up noble lies - or lies that benefit others as opposed to the one lying. Not all noble lies are free will decisions. For example, a known serial killer asks you where your friend is and you know that that person intends to kill your friend. That person doesn't willingly say "I don't know where she is" or "Yeah, she's [place where she really isn't] completely freely.

Liars can lie for benefit, and for avoiding the opposite, for themselves and for others. It's because of the various intents behind lying that House can safely make the assumption that "everyone" lies. He doesn't have to be right in saying so, but he has to be "more correct than not" in the assertion, which is hard to disprove. I sure as heck don't know anyone who has ever been completely truthful. The experiences most of us as humans have don't support the opposite to the hypothesis.

As far as our own individual knowledge? No, it's not the most testable thing we can test and not something we as humans can know, but the personal experiences we as humans have seem to be indicative that the hypothesis is true, that everyone lies.

[Maelstrom]

One of the points he makes that people don't always lie just to other people. They are equally apt to lie to themselves. And the conclusion I think house draws is that lying is a part of human nature so, between the outside and inside factors, it is inescapable.

House is definitely one of my favorite series.

To a certain extent, House values life over the stupidity/choices of other people, but to the greater extent I think he valued being right above even that.

House in an incarnation of Sherlocke Holmes. House, Holmes. Do you get it? And in both House and the bbc series of Sherlock Holmes, they are both portrayed as high functioning sociopaths. The thrill is in the chase and the correct conclusions. Everything in between is nearly irrelevant.