Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar... by Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein

Title: Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes

Author: Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

First Published: 2007

No. of Pages: 196

Synopsis (from B&N): "Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors - and born vaudevillians - Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR's Weekend Edition. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar . . . is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?) to Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything). Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read-and finally, it all makes sense!"

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: The synopsis for this book is right on point. This book is awesome. It's light-hearted and irreverent while still providing a good overview of basic philosophical theories and arguments. It would make a great addition to an Intro to Philosophy course and I'm wondering if some professor somewhere has already realized this and included it on the syllabus. Many of the jokes are laugh-out-loud funny and, believe it or not, they also are wonderful at making the point of the various theories. For example, pragmatism is presented as "the truth of a statement lies in its practical consequences." The accompanying joke:

A woman reports her husband's disappearance to the police. They ask her for a description, and she says, "He's six feet, three inches tall, well-built, with thick, curly hair."

Her friend says, "What are you talking about? Your husband is five-feet-four, bald, and has a huge belly."

And she says, "Who wants that one back?"

Some of the jokes are a little bit risque and probably not appropriate for chidren, who probably wouldn't understand the philosophy, either. But it's a great book for adults.

Challenges: 999 ("Dewey Decimal"); A to Z (author "C"); Dewey's Books Challenge; Dewey Decimal Challenge; Spring Reading Thing 2009; TBR Lite