Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart, Daniel Klein
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Book Reviews of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes
Book Review: My kind of text!
Summary: 5 Stars
Finally, I've come across my kind of text: PLATO AND PLATYPUS
WALK INTO A BAR: UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHY THROUGH
JOKES by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein . . . I only regret
that this engaging--and informative!--book wasn't available when
I took the course as an undergraduate.
Imagine having humor brought into the teaching of such topics as
Metaphysics, Logic, Epistemology, and even Existentialism . . . you'd
certainly want to study more and/or perhaps switch majors . . . either
that or you'd want a similar book for such courses as Economics
and Physics.
The authors not only share jokes, but they also present a
philosophical background for telling them:
* One type of applied ethics that burgeoned in the twentieth century
was professional ethics, the codes regulating the relationships
of professionals to clients and patients.
After attending a conference on professional ethics, four psychiatrists
walked out together. One said, "You know, people are always coming
to us with their guilt and fears, but we have no one to go to with our
problems. So why don't we take some time right now to hear each other
out?" The other three agreed.
The first psychiatrist confessed, "I have an almost uncontrollable
desire to kill my patients."
The second psychiatrist said, "I find ways to cheat my patients out
of their money whenever I can."
The third followed with, "I'm involved in selling drugs and often
get my patients to sell them for me."
The fourth psychiatrist then confessed, "You know, no matter how
hard I try, I can't seem to keep a secret."
They also take some old classics that you may have not heard
for quite some time, then introduce them with a twist that
will leave you laughing:
* . . . take away Socrates's rationality and he's no longer Socrates,
but give him plastic surgery, and he's Socrates with a nose
job. Which reminds us of a joke.
When Thompson hit seventy, he decided to change his lifestyle completely
so that he could live longer. He went on a strict diet, he jogged, he swam,
and he took sunbaths. In just three months' time, Thompson lost thirty pounds,
reduced his waist by six inches, and expanded his chest by five inches. Svelte
and tan, he decided to top it all off with a sporty new haircut. Afterward, while
stepping out of the barbershop, he was hit by a bus.
As he lay dying, he cried out, "God, how could you do this to me?"
And a voice from the heavens responded, "To tell you the truth, Thompson,
I didn't recognize you."
There are only 188 pages in PLATO AND A PLATYPUS . . . it left
me wanting more . . . and when's the last time you hear anybody
ever say that about anything remotely related to philosophy?
Book Review: we loved it; almost a family read
Summary: 5 Stars
Even though this book was a gift for my spouse, when he's giggling, we make him read it to us....which is often! Has brought up many great conversations and lots of laughs with our teens! Plus, we have already thought of so many other people that this book would be great as a gift! yea! Book Review: Good for what it is
Summary: 5 Stars
This book attempts to explain philsophy through jokes. On many levels it succeeded. The jokes gave insight into the philisphic concept being discussed far better than a bland analysis could have. The book covers, for all I can tell, all of philophy from the Greeks to the modern day. It is an overview, and thus shallow, but it serves as an introduction to the subject.
The jokes in this book were often old, but still funny.
Book Review: good effort
Summary: 4 Stars
i heard these guys on NPR last year and found them highly informative and entertaining. the book losses some of the immediacy of their patter but still one of the more palatable explications of some very difficult [for me] philosophological concepts, if i could only remember an;y of them. definitely worth the time and money.Book Review: Cogent philosophy punctuated with jokes
Summary: 4 Stars
A fun way to review/learn a little Philosophy. Briefly analyze your chuckles then move on to the next joke. Some of the explanations were better than the jokes and vice versa