Michael Quote #236
Quote from Michael in The Worst Possible Use of Free Will
Eleanor: Dude! Not cool.
Michael: Disagree. I think it's the coolest thing I've ever done. Do you really not see what's happening here? Do you want me to spell it out for you? This is a defense mechanism, Eleanor. You saw yourself fall in love with Chidi, and it freaked you out to see yourself be so vulnerable. So, you're using determinism to convince yourself that those feelings were not real.
Eleanor: You know, you don't know me, man.
Michael: Yes, I do, I know everything about you, remember? Including that nothing scares you more than vulnerability.
Eleanor: [scoffs] Whatever. Who even cares?
Michael: I do. Because if everything is determined, and we have no free will, then all the stuff we're doing to put more good into the world is pointless. And I want to believe that it matters. So if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna use my free will right now to go pick up our friends at the airport. Worst possible use of free will, but I'm gonna do it anyway, because I care about them.
Waitress: You might wanna head out too. We're closing soon, and the second we do, they use this place to shoot porn.
The Good Place Quotes
‘The Worst Possible Use of Free Will’ Quotes
Quote from Eleanor
Eleanor: I gotta say, it seems like I was really nailing that philosophy class. Can you believe my high school voted me "Most Likely to Die Young and Unaccomplished?"
Michael: You did die young and unaccomplished.
Eleanor: Fair enough.
Quote from Tahani
[flashback:]
Michael: Ah! My favorite four residents. Don't tell the others. [laughs] Welcome to "Pick a Pet Day." We have hundreds of beautiful animals for you to choose from. And when you do make your choice, your pet will bond to your soul forever.
Tahani: Fabulous. I haven't had a pet since Barbra Streisand gave me one of her cloned Siamese cats, and it killed itself.
Michael: Ah.
Tahani: I'm going to look at the mythical pets, darling. Catch up when you're ready.
Quote from Eleanor
Eleanor: "Determinism is the theory that we have no control over our own actions. Everything we do happens because of some external force, which exists outside of our control." I didn't choose to fall in love with Chidi, because some all-knowing demon, you, brought us together and scripted our lives.
Michael: That's ridiculous. I didn't make you kiss Chidi by that lake.
Eleanor: You kind of did. You orchestrated the whole "pet day" thing, manipulated us into choosing specific animals, made my lizard run away, which led to Chidi coming to help me find it, which led to us kissing, which led to us falling in love. None of that was my choice. Everything in my life has been determined by my upbringing, my genetics, or... or my environment. And everything in my afterlife was determined by you. There is no such thing as free will.