Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar
Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes
About the book
In the view of Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, jokes and philosophical concepts are made from the same material: both tease the mind and overturn settled ideas about how things are. The pair noticed the resemblance while studying philosophy at university. Each chapter takes one branch, such as metaphysics or epistemology, and works through its concepts, usually by describing an idea, telling a joke and then explaining it, with cartoons and limericks along the way. A gag between two characters, Dimitri and Tasso, opens and closes every chapter. Klein called the 2007 book a kind of Philosophy 101, and it became a best seller after the authors appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb gave it a mixed Amazon review, likening it to a short airport-lounge drink with a witty companion while saying it falls short as philosophy.
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This book has 1 recommendation
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Flaneur)
I read Plato and the Platypus by Umberto Eco, which I found brilliant and was sucked into buying this book thinking it was about the same problem of categories. But Philosophy this is not, or if it is, it is not deep enough to give satisfaction. This is like a brief drink in an airplane lounge with someone funny, smart, witty, but not too funny. So I would give it my lowest rating: 4 stars (as an author I can't give below that --I just would not review).
Would I buy it again? Perhaps, but only for a plane ride. It left me very very hungry for both jokes and philosophy.
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