Customer Reviews

Philosophy on the Go (Bathroom Professor)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Philosophy has a reputation for being obscure, highfaluting, and not terribly practical or useful. However, if one is not easily dismayed by these misconceptions then it's possible to learn a lot about the world and our conceptions of it from studying some of the most interesting philosophical questions. Unfortunately many people don't have much time to go even over some of the very short introductory books on philosophy, or are dismayed by the more challenging presentations that turn them away from this fascinating discipline.

This is a very short and very to-the-point book on Philosophy for people who want absolute essentials without wasting almost any time on delving deeper into the subject. The book presents some of the most famous philosophers of all time as well as their signature ideas - Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and many others. Some of the explanations are a paragraph or two long, while many are reduced to terse single sentences. These could very well been used as Twitter updates. The book also tries to explain some deep questions in a humorous way. May favorite is the "Nagging Question #2" - Is the glass half full or half empty? There are numerous answers to this question put in the mouths of many famous philosophers. As someone who is familiar with the essential philosophical ideas behind these answers, I couldn't help but chuckle at an original way that they have been presented. It made me rethink those ideas.

If you are interested in reading this book as a substitute for even the most elementary philosophy textbook, then you may be disappointed with the depth of the insights and the breadth of information. However, this is not what this book is meant to be, and as an amusing and instructive way of getting your feet wet with philosophy it gets the job done well enough.

This short book contains some serious knowledge, compactly organized and told with a much too tongue-and-cheek flair.

It a addresses many of the fundamental questions of philosophy in an easy to understand but serious way. Yet, it seems to have unnecessarily steered away from (or made much too light of) the more controversial aspects of philosophy -- such as proof (or disproof) of the existence of God. There are many neat, short and revealing proofs (and disproofs) that should have been included.

The good news is that each of the great traditional philosopher's philosophy is summarized in an easy to understand plate, followed by a list of their most famous quotes (i.e. for Plato: "Know thy self;" and for Aristotle: "I think therefore I am, etc.). The books biggest weakness, however, is that except for a brief excursion into Nietzsche and Kierkegaarde, it ignores the continental philosophers and their philosophies, in favor of becoming repetitious about the more traditional ones. Had it even mentioned European philosophers, the book could have easily merited at least another star. Two stars.

Philosophy is a favorite past time of mine. I've got tons of material on philosophy, books about authors, books by different authors, so i'm quite rehearsed in the topic. However, this is an amusing little book when I just want to read some wise sayings and witty quotes. It's written in an amusing style as well. I highly recommend it.

Having read this book, although it entertains in places, there's a feeling that there's nothing in this book that couldn't be found in numerous other humorous takes on philosophy which are already available on the market. It's an ok buy if you haven't already got something similar on your bookshelf, but not worth buying if you have.

This book is hilarious and belongs in every bathroom. It lampoons as well as educates because Joey Green is simply a master in this genre. No, you won't be ready for the final exam in Philosophy 101, but you will learn something and get a few hearty laughs that will help with any constipation you may be experiencing! The book is perfectly partitioned for either a short squat or a long dump--enjoy!

Two strong pluses to the book are Green's (humorous) speculations as to how philosophers would respond to various modern day issues as well as his historical gossip on them--the great philosophers had their quirks like everyone else, sometimes more so.

I picked this up because I wanted a "Cliff Notes" way to pick up all of the philosophy that I somehow missed in college. This did not disappoint! It wasn't that intellectual, but it was written in a humorous way that was entertaining (and I learned a little something). I would recommend this to anyone who wants a little "light" reading in the john!