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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar - Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes |
Didn’t Like It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “I felt this concept of using jokes to illustrate philosophical concepts did not work very well. At least, not for a book to read from cover to cover. There is no way to remember what you read, because there is no 'thread' to this book, merely a collection of anecdotes. I also felt the connection...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Its a short quick and easy read. The text has allot of meaning behind it so it takes allot of thinking to really be able to understand. ”
thomas B wrote this review 8 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“... yuk yuk.
Jay R wrote this review Friday, November 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
What, you want good humour? You want that you should learn some philosophy? Then read this book, schmuck!”
“This I can understand!”
Julie M wrote this review Thursday, October 29 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Fun book to read. ”
jan1941 wrote this review Thursday, October 29 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“While this book may not help you to score an A in Philosophy 101, it may help you to understand the very elemental basics of the major tenants and schools of philosophy, not to mention teach you some horrifically cheesy jokes. The jokes and the authors’ analysis often had a rimshot (bah-dum-dum) tone, while the actual philosophic information was well-laid out and easily understandable without being dull or academic. A novel and informational little book that serves its purpose well.”
wurd nurd wrote this review Wednesday, October 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“ If you are interested in a fantastic read and especially a good laugh, check this book out. “Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar” by Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein, is one of the funniest non-fiction books I have ever read. These guys really know how to explain philosophy.
Jack I wrote this review Tuesday, October 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Although this is a non-fiction book, there are actually two main characters. There is Dimitri, the Greek comedian, and Tasso, one of Socrates' students.(May be a different philosopher.) The two main charaters give the story some good diolog, which I really like in a book.
The story also has a true setting. It takes place in Greece, probably Athens around 400 B.C . The jokes, on the other hand, take place in tons of different areas of the world. I thought it was pretty cool how the athours gave a non-fiction book an actual setting, both time period and location.
Because this is non-fiction is has no true plot. The book has ten chapters covering the topics of Metaphysics, Logic, Epistemology, Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, Existentialism, Philosophy of Language, Social and Political Philosophy, Relativity, and Metaphilosophy. In each of the chapters there are many small jokes, helping to explain the topic of philosophy better.(Some jokes are a bit inappropriate.) The jokes were probably my favorite part because the helped me understand the concepts better, and they gave me a good laugh.
This was an outstanding book that I just found in my parents room. I would recommend it to mostly older people because there is some fowl language. Although philosophy would sound boring to most people, the authors do a great job of explaining each topic at hand.
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“This is one of the funniest books ever. I was chuckling all the way home on the subway adn I'm sure people were thinking I was just another Toronto wierdo. I always thought of philosophy as pretty dry stuff but this really puts it all in perspective. It explains everything from Engel to Kierkegaard to Marx. I loved, loved, loved it.”
Dianne L wrote this review Thursday, October 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Very funny and instructive. I learned a lot about philosophy, and it really wasn't dry or boring.”
Marty wrote this review Friday, September 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“so far so good. The jokes are fun and apt. The philosophy is a sketch at best. ”
Tim E wrote this review Friday, August 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
