Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar (2006) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

Write a ridiculously simplified synopsis.

Characters/People edit see section history

• Kant: Add a description of this character.
• Tasso
• Socrates
• Alvin
• Descartes
• Watson
• Thompson
• Holmes
• Aristotle
• Machiavelli
• Seamus
• Russell
• Billingsley
• Ms. Harding
• Garwood
• Tommy
• Lou
• Dimitri

Quotes edit see section history

• “P.64: 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.”

• “P.130: Using language that is appropriate in one linguistic framework in a different linguistic framework is what causes philosophical confusions and pseudo puzzles, also known as the history of philosophy.”

• “P.179: Keep in mind these deep thoughts on relativity the next time you send out for Chinese food — or, as the Chinese call it, food.”

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• The Law of Noncontradiction says that nothing can both be so and not be so at the same time.

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• Under capitalism, man exploits his fellow man. Under communism, the opposite is true.

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• The phrase describes the error of assuming that because one thing follows another, that thing was caused by the other. For obvious reasons, this false logic is popular in sociopolitical discourse, such as “Most people hooked on heroin started with marijuana.” True, but even more started with milk.

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• There is a distinction between the telos of life—what human beings are meant to be—and a particular individual’s goals in life—what he wants to be.

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• In general, we’re deceived by post hoc ergo propter hoc because we fail to notice that there’s another cause at work.

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• 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.

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• Reductio ad absurdum is a type of logical argument that extends a premise to the point of absurdity and then claims that the opposite premise must therefore be true.

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• An optimist thinks that this is the best of all possible worlds. A pessimist fears that this is so.

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• Aristotle drew a distinction between essential and accidental properties. The way he put it is that essential properties are those without which a thing wouldn’t be what it is, and accidental properties are those that determine how a thing is, but not what it is.

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• According to Aristotle, everything has a telos, which is an inner goal it is meant to attain.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Berkeley
• India

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Thomas Cathcart (Author)
2. Daniel M. Klein (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 102.07

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › United States › History & Criticism › Literary Theory
• Books › Nonfiction › Philosophy › History & Surveys
• Books › Entertainment › Humor › Satire, General
• Books › Entertainment › Humor › Satire
• Books › Entertainment › Humor › Essays
• Books › Entertainment › Humor › Jokes & Riddles

More Books Like This edit see section history