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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious and Helpful, August 28, 2009
This review is from: Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between (Hardcover)
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"Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates" is a surprisingly funny and nuanced view of the meaning of life, with special emphasis on the views of classical philosophers. The format will be familiar to those that have read Cathcart and Klein's "Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar" -- some serious philosophy, a good joke or two, and a series of delightful cartoons on relevant topics.
Surprisingly supported by the jokes and cartoons, the authors carefully consider some serious philosophical issues while clearly explaining background concepts. I was a Philosophy major in college many years ago, and it was delightful to see how easily the authors clearly explained some rather difficult concepts in Existentialism, classic philosophy (Plato and Aristotle), depth psychology (Freud and Jung), Buddhism, religion, and cybernetics as they explored issues like the survival of personality after death, the existence of heaven and hell, and the meaning of life.
There's a lot to learn from this book but it never feels dull or academic. Perhaps my only criticism is the repeated use of nicknames for famous philosophers. The first time Martin Heidegger is referred to as "Marty" is mildly amusing, but it quickly becomes tiresome as the gag is repeated many times. On the plus side, they quote Woody Allen often.
All in all, a refreshing and vigorous example of the best use of philosophy as a means to clarify thinking and beliefs. Highly recommended.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Cartoons Are Killers!, October 16, 2009
This review is from: Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between (Hardcover)
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I have several relatives in the "very old" generation and they're dropping like flies. As a result, I have tried to brush up on my ability to converse easily with those who have almost finished their bucket list. My particular approach is to minimize the religious and maximize the use of humor. Some of them have fallen hard enough for the threats about "the other place" and I feel it is my job to reassure them that they'll at least be well-remembered. So far, this book is my best resource.
You're in luck if you would like to be knowledgable about the great philosophers who addressed death but reading about them puts you to sleep. They're all here, interspersed with hilarious cartoons and correctly presented by the authors. The format of the book lends itself well to painless learning.
If you are approaching the finish line yourself, let me provide for you the recommendation of Mark Twain. I had read it before, but this book presents it again: "When approaching the Pearley Gates, leave your dog behind. If entrance were based on merit, he would be admitted and you would be left behind."
DB
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A joyous romp through the valley of the shadow of death and beyond, September 14, 2009
This review is from: Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between (Hardcover)
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My guess is that over time this review will be buried six feet underneath a heaping pile of other positive reviews, but Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein deliver big on death and dying in their educational and uproarious book Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates.
Cathcart and Klein try to explain the philosophical and theological underpinnings of death and dying to the lay person. It is a book for those of us who have a deep desire to contemplate the meaning of our existence, but are not quite able to see the light through the opaque language of the philosophers. Cathcart and Klein are able to simplify these complex concepts and make them understandable to the average guy. By giving us concrete examples to illustrate the concepts and infusing all this with humor, the book never drags. It remains interesting, funny, incredibly readable, and edutaining.
And speaking of edutainment, the book is written like Sesame Street for adults. There is always a lot going on. Like Plato, who illustrated his philosophy by writing dialogs, Cathcart and Klein write their book as a dialoge. So instead of Socrates speaking with various Athenians, Cathcart and Klein write an irreverent dialogue between themselves and their `neighbor' Daryl. The authors illustrate the concepts as answers to fundamental questions posed by Daryl. Interspersed with this are jokes that illustrate the concepts discussed. If that weren't enough, the book also contains a huge number of cartoons (possibly from the New Yorker or at very least in that style) that further illustrate the concepts and numerous humorous quotations to round everything out. In the hands of some authors this kind of juggling might become confusing, but in the hands of Cathcart and Klein, the four kinds of narrative all come together and really enhance understanding. The humor really helps here. Not only does it keep the reader entertained but keeps an otherwise morbid subject matter from becoming tiresome. In an odd way, the humor keeps the book about death alive.
As for the caveats, this book covers a lot of introductory material, but it is still introductory. Dabblers such as me will find this entertaining and interesting, but anyone who really wants to plumb to the depths of philosophy will be disappointed. All the high concepts are there for the lay person, but this is not an advanced philosophy text. Moreover, the authors don't stick with any one concept long enough to explore it thoroughly. This did not bother me, as the book is really supposed to be an introduction to these concepts, but might frustrate someone who wants a little more than the book was designed to deliver.
As to the humor, you may recognize some very, very old jokes. But Cathcart and Klein really do use the jokes to illustrate concepts and they have a knack for retelling the jokes rather well. Some of the jokes bombed with me, but they come in rapid succession. So even though it can be hit or miss, there are enough hits to keep the laughter going. Just to forewarn, some of the jokes are politically incorrect, but the authors seem to pick on women and men equally so my guess is that no one will get too offended.
All an all, a joyous romp through the valley of the shadow of death and the afterlife. It's hard to imagine a book like that, but here it is.
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