Kant Meets True Blood: Linking Television To Philosophy (PHOTOS)

Television and philosophy⎯they just naturally go together. Like peanut butter and jelly, politicians and corruption, Pat Sajak and Vanna White. As Homer Simpson said, "The answer to life's problems aren't at the bottom of a bottle. They're on TV!"

Starting in 600 B.C. when Thales of Miletus wondered what the heck everything was made of, humans have pondered questions of existence, knowledge and morality. We haven't found any clear answers but we're still asking the questions. And because television is so prevalent today (one and a half billion TV sets worldwide and growing⎯yikes!), naturally we look to the boob tube for enlightenment.

So pop a beer, sit back in the recliner and click the remote. With the help of this slideshow (and my book), you'll find that Marcia Brady can explain John Locke's social theory and you can learn about Aristotle's "Poetics" from an episode of "24."

Peter Archer (contributor) is an editor at Adams Media and the author of "The Quotable Intellectual."