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Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes

Authors: Thomas Cathcart, Daniel Klein
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

3 reviews
Sales Rank: 7690

Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.2 x 0.9

ISBN: 081091493X
Dewey Decimal Number: 102.07
EAN: 9780810914933
ASIN: 081091493X

Publication Date: May 1, 2007
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•	Paperback - Plato and A Platypus Walk into A Bar

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Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

Philosophy is Phunny December 11, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I found this book to be informative and fun. I had always thought of formal philosphy as being, well, dry. However, within the confines of this brief book, philosophy comes alive, surprisingly with....humour.

The concepts and various philosophies are easily explained away with wit and charm. Quite a number of times, I found myself laughing out loud, and desirous of sharing many of the jokes.....thus, best not to read it outside your house (unless you want to entertain perfect strangers).

The format is punchy and straight. There is no time for boredom, or too much reverence.
A very enlightening, light and jaunty read.

5 out of 5 stars

Jokes Illustrate Philosophical Questions and Points of View August 24, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Philosophical discussions can be pretty hypothetical and abstract (what is the sound of two hands clapping if both hands stop short of touching one another?). Instead of scanning your brain madly for some point of reference (you often won't find one), you can read a joke from this book instead . . . that captures the essence of the point. The short jokes often explain more than the material that precede them, but in very few words.

I took philosophy in college and loved it. I even considered becoming a philosophy major. But I thought this book was so much more fun than when I studied philosophy formally.

If you have never studied philosophy but would like to learn a little, this book is an excellent choice. Most major philosophical perspectives are represented (except the purely mathematical ones) so you can look up a brief explanation and example anytime you want to understand a reference to a certain kind of philosophy. The approach is much briefer than a book on philosophy for unphilosophical people might be, but a lot more relevant and fun.

If you have studied philosophy, you owe it to yourself to see what jokes the authors have picked to represent various philosophies. I promise you'll be fascinated.

Does the book have a drawback? Sure. If you know a lot of jokes, you'll find many old chestnuts in the book. In fact, you may well anticipate the selection of some of these jokes (such as the one chosen for exemplifying relativism). The jokes are a lot more fun if the joke is new to you. I'm glad that the joke reflected in the book's title was saved to the end: It was a nice surprise.

For those who are new to philosophy, you may not get a few of the jokes. Some of the jokes refer back to elements of the philosophy or philosophy that you may not be familiar enough with after reading the brief sections in this book.

I strongly urge scholars and writers to use the same joke-example method to explain other disciplines. It's a winner!

Okay, so here's an example from the book's beginning which addresses teleology (do things have an innate purpose?):

"Mrs. Goldstein was walking down the street with her two grandchildren. A friend stopped to ask her how old they were.

"She replied, 'The doctor is five and the lawyer is seven.'"

As you can see the joke doesn't exactly fit the philosophy, but the joke does make a nice transition into a discussion of whether human life as a purpose.

Topics covered include metaphysics, logic, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of religion, existentialism, philosophy of language, social and political philosophy, relativity, and metaphilosophy.

The humor also extends to cartoons and a hilarious timeline at the book's end called "Great Moments in the History of Philosophy." Even the glossary has lighthearted references in it.

If being philosophical can be this much fun, we should all turn into philosophers!

4 out of 5 stars

Funny and down to Earth introduction to philosophy June 30, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Cathcart and Klein call it philogagging and I have to say it is a very approachable way to introduce philosophy. Short and precise and most importantly a far cry from the usual pagelong sentences of genius philosophers. For a reader like myself who doesn't have the obtion to brag about knowledge of philosophy - Plato and a Platypus is a humorous introduction full of one-liners. For a reader with a philosophical background Plato and a Platypus is a great little curiosum, that will bring out a smile and a laugh. The jokes really are funny!!

Plato and a Platypus is interesting the other way around as well. Who would have thought that jokes, including lawyer-jokes and the occasional knock-knock-jokes are so deep as to examplify philosophy.

Plato and a Platypus is divided in chapters according to philosophical disciplin and within each chapter are the different theories.

I would recommend Plato and a Platypus for a newcomer in the field of philosophy and the philosophical genius, who needs to lighten up and realize that philosophy can be funny, laughable and very down to Earth.