Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar... Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes
This New York Times bestseller is the hilarious philosophy course everyone wishes they’d had in school Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors—and born vaudevillians—Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on...
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This New York Times bestseller is the hilarious philosophy course everyone wishes they’d had in school Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors—and born vaudevillians—Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar . . . is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?) to Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything). Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read—and finally, it all makes sense! Watch a QuickTime trailer for this book.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780143113874 (0143113879)
Publish date: 2008-06-24
Publisher: Penguin
Pages no: 215
Edition language: English
Category:
Non Fiction,
Humor,
Writing,
Essays,
Funny,
Comedy,
History,
Science,
Adult,
Philosophy,
Psychology
This book was a lot of fun. Here are some of my favorite parts: On Free Will When asked whether he believed in free will, twentieth-century novelist Isaac Bashevis Singer replied, tongue-in-cheek, "I have no choice." On Ethics Sorting out what's good and bad is the province of ethics....
A light, funny way to introduce yourself to the fundamentals of philosophy, or refresh what you were taught in school. I had a really hard time not reading a lot of this out loud to MT, and while he claimed prior knowledge of a few of the jokes, they were all new to me (I think, I don't remember jo...
The jokes were funny, but I'm not sure I came away understanding philosophy any better than I did. But then again, I'm not really sure anyone does. And it confirms that picking sociology as my social science in college was the right choice. Interesting enough, but not really worth the time.
Revived my 12 philosophy credits big time! Very fun, will have to read the others
This is an interesting read, but I guess it does not look like a "crash introduction" to me. I find it rather a nice complement to what I have already known and have recently learned about. In some parts, I do not really get it and instead end up reading the jokes only for its humor quality not phil...