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Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes | 
 enlarge | Authors: Thomas Cathcart, Daniel Klein
Publisher: Abrams Image
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $10.64
You Save: $8.31 (44%)
New (6) Used (9) from $9.57
Avg. Customer Rating:  121 reviews
Sales Rank: 128990
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 4.9 x 0.8
Dewey Decimal Number: 102.07
ASIN: B001990I7Q
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Heres a lively, hilarious, not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical traditions, schools, concepts, and thinkers. Its Philosophy 101 for everyone who knows not to take all this heavy stuff too seriously. Some of the Big Ideas are Existentialism (what do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?), Philosophy of Language (how to express what its like being stranded on a desert island with Halle Berry), Feminist Philosophy (why, in the end, a man is always a man), and much more. Finallyit all makes sense!
I laughed, I learned, I loved it! Roy Blount Jr.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 116 more reviews...
 Excellent. September 23, 2008
I won't pretend for a moment I know a damn thing about philosophy, as much as I'd love to the esoteric barriers always seem just out reach for either my pedestrian intelligence or my patience, or both. This book, and its companion (Aristotle and an Aardvark) are both so enjoyable I read it completely while in the bookstore and still bought it. The authors appear to have a deeply rooted understanding of the nuances of philosophical thought and study yet present the material in such an approachable, understandable and humorous way one can't help but enjoy the process of learning. You WILL laugh and WILL learn.
A Little Philosophy--A Lot of Great Jokes September 17, 2008
I only know a little about philosophy, so I can in no way speak to the accuracy of this little book, and in all honesty, if you're looking for an in-depth review, look elsewhere. However, explaining a rather dry, esoteric subject like philosophy through something fun like jokes is a great idea, and these authors pull it off rather well, with only the occasional stretch. Some of the ideas the authors talk about are quite down to earth and put in a way that they can actually be applied to life, and if you learn nothing else, you can have a few new jokes to tell your friends.
The Primier Primer of Philosophy September 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In college, I loathed philosophy, philosophy students, and philosophy professors, and not necessarily in that order. There were two problems, one my fault, and the other a consequence of the attitudes displayed by denizens of the philosophy realm. I did not understand that it is the structure of the argument, not the answer (or even the question per se) that was the point, so I was under the impression that philosophy was for arrogant, humorless, self-satisfied pencil-necks who were incapable of agreeing on the color of grass. The philosophy folks failed to articulate that the fundamental issue was structured argument and were utterly without a sense of humor. Needless to say that in conversation, we got along like a house on fire; people running away, smoke, flames, sirens approaching...
Had I found this book before being exposed the the philosophers of academia, I would have had a much better attitude towards their grim view of their own discipline.
This is philosophy for people with a sense of perpective and a sense of humor. All the major themes of current philosophy education are addressed, along with a few other threads, and placed into context and relevance through jokes. Making philosophy relevant is where academia falls down, but Cathcart and Klein pick it up, dust it off, and make it worth a person's time.
If you never got the point of philosophy, read this book. If nothing else, there are some worthwhile jokes.
E.M. Van Court
Awesome and hilarious September 10, 2008
I loved this book... I have gifted this book to so many of my friends for a good laugh. I recommend this book to all.
Philosophy may be funny and it also may not be so funny at all September 5, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an amusing little trip through the various fields and schools of Philosophy. It is lightened with jokes and anecdotes, little stories and perceptions which are never too difficult, and never require much time to absorb. It is of course not for anyone who wishes to go into philosophical questions in depth but rather for those who would like to have a bit of fun in the world of ideas.
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