About this title: This lively crash course in philosophy takes us on a hilarious - and at the same time, profound - tour through the great philosophical traditions, schools, concepts and thinkers. All with a light touch. As if being led on an intellectual adventure by a brilliant stand-up comic, the reader experiences light-hearted excursions through this weightiest of disciplines - laughing all the way. A ribald refresher course for those in-the-know or hilarious starter class, this makes Big Ideas a hoot to understand. Topics include: Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything!), analogies, fallacies, ...
read more
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Abrams Image
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780810914933ISBN:081091493X
Description: Good. Used item may show library stamps, stickers and marks. Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780143113874ISBN:0143113879
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 224 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. 5%$ donated to Florida Food SHARE. read more
Description: Good. 2008-Paperback----Used-Good-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Description: 12 mo., softcover, near fine in red pictorial wraps. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, this breakout bestseller 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 their heavy stuff light. Glossary, Index. 215p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Abrams Image
Date Published: 2007-05-01
ISBN-13:9780810914933ISBN:081091493X
Description: Like New. Like new hardcover in excellent condition, issued without dust jacket, no writing, non-smoking home, clean text, binding tight, Christian business. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Abrams Image
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780810914933ISBN:081091493X
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Almost as new. Very slight shelf wear. This edition had no dj issued. No markings or creasing. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780810914933ISBN:081091493X
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Hardcover, no DJ 2007 second printing. Clean and tight without marks or tears. Looks new and unused. See our customer image #7870. read more
"A new favorite. This little book is not a deep philosophical probe, after all, there is that small poke at philosophy itself at the end. But it is told with humor, as with the rest of the book's philosophical look at logic, ethics, religion, existentialism and more. Jokes are spread throughout the book to teach the concepts -- a strategy that worked well for me. I recognized a few of them, and others seemed tailor-made just for this purpose of relaying a point to others. A small and very enjoyable read, and an appropriate stepping-stone for those of us entertaining notions of a more philosophical thought process."
""A man stumbles into a deep well and plummets a hundred feet before grasping a spindly root, stopping his fall. His grip grows weaker and weaker, and in his desperation he cries out, 'Is there anybody up there?' "He looks up, and all he can see is a circle of sky. Suddenly, the clouds part and a beam of bright light shines down on him. A deep voice thunders, 'I, the Lord, am here. Let go of the root, and I will save you.' "The man thinks for a moment and then yells, 'Is there anybody else up there?' (52).
"Kant concluded taht we can know nothing about things as they are in themselves. The ding an sich, the thing-in-itself, he said is 'equal to x." We can only know the phenomenal world, the world of appearances; we can know nothing of the transcendent, noumenal world beyond the appearances. "In so saying, Kant laid down the gauntlet for a paradigm shift in philosophy. Reason cannot tell us about the world beyond our senses. Neither Berkeley's God-as-data-entry-clerk or any metaphysical explanation of the world can be arrived at by pure reason. Philosophy was never the same again" (64).
"What is the difference between a duck? "What is the sound of one hand clapping? "Both questions elicit what is know in philosophical circles as a 'Whaaa?' response. They don't scan. We just can't understand what an answer could possible be. . . . the second is a classic Zen koan . . . . A koan is a riddle or story that, when told by a Zen master to a student, has the possibility of shocking that student into a state of consciousness known as satori--sudden enlightenment. . . . Koans catapult us to enlightenment by confounding our minds with impossible ideas. Get beyond those and bang, you're in satori" (109)."
"I chuckled my way through this book. Anyone who believes philosophy is dull and better relegated to the musty halls of the previous century will be both surprised and delighted by Plato and a Platypus Walk Into A Bar. The book opens with a quotation from Groucho Marx, thus setting the tone for the future!
What follows is a delightful comparison of age-old philosophy from various schools of thought worldwide to today's modern, confusing and often downright hilarious world. Included in the book are humorous cartoons from several artists, a glossary of philosophical terms and a timeline of great moments in the history of philosophy. I laughed and I learned a bundle. Plato and a Platypus Walk Into A Bar is a must for every librarian, scholar, student, professor or New Age theorist who ever blinked up at the bright sun and quietly asked the question, "Why?" Good for general reading and, in my humble opinion, a most worthy addition to one's permanent library."
"Life is essentially absurd, and philosophy is not far behind.
That seems to be the impression one gets from reading "Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar", by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, who deliver a quick survey of western philosophy using jokes. Yes, those stupid, absurd expressions of illogic that can also be profound and meaningful.
From Metaphysics to Meta-Philosophy, Cathcart and Klein explain the simple nuances and wrinkles of thought. Each philosophical concept gets its own punch line. Some of them can be real groaners, but then again, what is the sound of a punch line if it lacks a punch? And will it still draw a laugh if there is no one to hear it? But I digress...
We take philosophy so seriously, but not this book. It's an easy way of starting on the subject, perhaps easier than the six credits of philosophy you were required to take as a college freshman, but forgot once you became a sophomore. One can only throw up their hands in despair and conclude that philosophy is all meaningless, but where is the humor in that?
Seriously folks, philosophy is the lens through which we look at life and try to see its meaning. We may not understand it at first sight, but the right joke helps us grasp the concept.
Like infinity.
"Two cows are standing in a pasture. One turns to the other and says 'Although pi is usually abbreviated to five numbers, it actually goes on into infinity.' The second cow turns to the first and says, 'Moo.'"
Or relativity.
"A multinational company advertises for a secretary. A golden retriever applies for the job , passes the typing test and is granted an interview. The human resources manager asks, 'Do you speak any foreign languages?' And the golden retriever answers, 'Meow.'"
Read this book for fun. Question the meaning of existence later."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
