A J Doherty

'Right' said Father Fred A J Doherty

"'Right' said Father Fred" is a humorous philosophical play written in the typical style of episodes from the cult classic U. K. television show "Father Ted" of the mid 1990's. The book will be of interest to students in introductory moral philosophy classes, those who are simply curious about moral philosophy, and those who are just fans of the hilarious "Father Ted" show (written by Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews). The book provides a humorous yet accurate guide to some well known philosophical arguments regarding the source and nature of morality, focusing in particular on Plato's 'Euthyphro' dialogue. The book is suitable for those with no prior knowledge of analytic philosophy and for adoption by instructors of introductory moral philosophy courses. In act one, Plato's Euthyphro dilemma is described, and some initial reactions to the dilemma are explored. Act two continues the evaluation of different responses to the dilemma. Act three focuses on the description and evaluation of some philosophical arguments concerning the ancient debate about whether morality is objective, and independent of one's interests and desires, or whether it is subjective, i.e. a matter of personal opinion, or perhaps relative to the culture and time that one happens to live in. Father Ted-style humor is abundant throughout, incorporating situations and interchanges reminiscent of the original show. Notes to the book record relevant details from various episodes of "Father Ted"; it is hoped that these will help to reinforce in readers who are unfamiliar with the show a sense of its quirky humor (and encourage such readers to discover the 'joy of Ted' for themselves). Additionally, the notes facilitate instructors' finding video-clips from the original episodes which might be shown in class to supplement lectures (indeed, the play format of the book easily lends itself to being enacted in class; engaging students in a direct and fun way whilst allowing for instructors to select points at which to pause the play to allow for further discussion of arguments rehearsed).