324. Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes
Rating: ☆☆☆
Recommended by: Margo Funk
Author: Thomas Cathcart, Daniel Klein
Genre: Non Fiction, Philosophy, Humor
200 pages, published May 1, 2007
Reading Format: Book
Summary
An overview of the great philosophical traditions, schools, concepts, and thinkers as told with humor and jokes.
Quotes
“Moses trudges down from Mt. Sinai, tablets in hand, and announces to the assembled multitudes: “I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The good news is I got Him down to ten. Thebad news is ‘adultery’ is still in.”
“Some have argued that because the universe is like a clock, there must be a Clockmaker. As the eighteenth-century British empiricist David Hume pointed out, this is a slippery argument, because there is nothing that is really perfectly analogous to the universe as a whole, unless it’s another universe, so we shouldn’t try to pass off anything that is just a part of this universe. Why a clock anyhow? Hume asks. Why not say the universe is analogous to a kangaroo? After all, both are organically interconnected systems. But the kangaroo analogy would lead to a very different conclusion about the origin of the universe: namely, that it was born of another universe after that universe had sex with a third universe. ”
“Sorting out what’s good and bad is the province of ethics. It is also what keeps priests, pundits, and parents busy. Unfortunately, what keeps children and philosophers busy is asking the priests, pundits and parents, “Why?”
“The optimist says, “The glass is half full.”
The pessimist says, “The glass is half empty.”
The rationalist says, “This glass is twice as big as it needs to be.”
“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?”
My Take
If you want to learn more about philosophy and philosophical traditions, this humor book is a fun way to do so.
