How Zombies, Dragons, and Superheroes Could Make You a Better Person

When philosopher Christopher Robichaud was asked what made him a better human, his answer surprised even him: Dungeons and Dragons. "It socialized me and taught me how to develop good friendships. It taught me how to play, how to imagine, how to take up different perspectives, how to problem solve, how to deal with uncertainty and the consequences of my decisions—all while having a blast fighting trolls and dragons." That childhood insight became the foundation of his career teaching ethics at Harvard Kennedy School, where he uses zombie apocalypse simulations, superhero narratives, and role-playing games to help professionals wrestle with real moral questions.

Why Ethics Can't Be a Recipe Book

Robichaud emphasizes that ethics at an adult level is not a laundry list of right and wrong answers. "It's more an invitation to really think about what are my values, what are my principles, what are other people's values and principles, and how do I settle on these hard questions where it's not obvious what to do." He points to the pandemic as a vivid example: we value both public health and individual liberty, but we can't maximize both simultaneously. That tension—between competing goods we genuinely care about—is precisely where ethical reasoning becomes necessary rather than optional.