The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher [Paperback]

Julian Baggini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2006

Both entertaining and startling, The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten offers one hundred philosophical puzzles that stimulate thought on a host of moral, social, and personal dilemmas. Taking examples from sources as diverse as Plato and Steven Spielberg, author Julian Baggini presents abstract philosophical issues in concrete terms, suggesting possible solutions while encouraging readers to draw their own conclusions:

Lively, clever, and thought-provoking, The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten is a portable feast for the mind that is sure to satisfy any intellectual appetite.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For Stelios, the teletransporter is the only way to travel." So begins one of the 100 philosophically based brain teasers in Baggini's clever book. Each entry includes an imagined scenario, which is based on sources from Plato to Sir Bernard Williams, followed by commentary that introduces a series of mind-bending questions and broadens the possible contexts: e.g., if Stelios's body is disintegrated and then recomposed by the transporter, is Stelios still the same person he was? Is it ever ethical to eat animals, even if they want to be eaten? Is there really an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving God? Is it right to do something wrong if it doesn't hurt anyone? Is torture ever a good option? Baggini, the editor of the U.K.'s Philosopher's Magazine, offers no firm answers, only hints as to where the discussion might go next. The conceit of the volume forces some repetitiveness and some simplification, but overall, it effectively explores aesthetics, ethics, language, logic, religion, mind and the self. More importantly, it's hugely entertaining. Any one of these thought experiments would serve as a great party game, keeping the conversation going for hours. (July)
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Review

“This book is like the Sudoku of moral philosophy: apply your mind to any of its ‘thought experiments’ while stuck on the Tube, and quickly be transported out of rush-hour hell.”
—New Statesman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Plume (June 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452287448
• ISBN-13: 978-0452287440
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Logic & Brain Teasers

More About the Author

Julian Baggini is the editor and co-founder of The Philosophers' Magazine. His books include Do You Think What You Think YouThink? (with Jeremy Stangroom), What's It All About? - Philosophy and the Meaning of Life and The Pig That Wants to be Eaten, all published by Granta Books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Things that make you go Hmmm..., June 30, 2006

By 

Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher (Paperback)

Here is a book you simply cannot sit down and read in a single afternoon. In fact, I could only read, and really ponder, a few of these "experiments" at a time. This books attacks and/or makes you think about a variety of subjects. Nothing is taboo. I read passages on vegetarian verses meat, religion of all types, the environment, political situations, many moral, social, and personal dilemmas, and even zombies!

The author drew upon many sources. The title of this book is from an issue brought up in the well-known book "The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe" by Douglas Adams. Not impressed? How about just some of the other sources, such as René Descartes, Thomas Nagel, David Hume, Antony Flew, and Bjorn Lomborg?

**** There is no need to be a doctor, professor, or anything else which requires higher education. Each experiment of philosophy is written in such a way that your intelligence will not be offended, no matter your normal or higher education status. If you are looking for a book that will make you actually sit back and THINK, then I highly suggest this one. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Like A Plate of Crackers..., August 5, 2006

By 

Harkius "harkius" (Laramie, WY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher (Paperback)

you can consume the entire thing and still feel that you haven't really gained anything of value.

Don't get me wrong. The author does a good job of placing these concerns in context (although this book of 100 issues really only deals with a half dozen or so -- euthanasia, vegetarianism, utilitarianism, mind/body, theological philosophy, and another one or two minor issues), he doesn't really do much to illuminate them. Perhaps this would have been better produced as a book of 25 issues with cohesive and comprehensive arguments for each side. Instead, he (barely) gives us "talking points" for each of them (and frustratingly leaves us without any references for ANY of them...)

This is a good book to pick up if you want to run your ethical system through its paces, but it really won't change your mind about anything, so it is kind of tepid. In addition, there is little or nothing new here to even an armchair philosopher, whom this is intended to address (the cover says).

Pick it up as a discussion starter over the family dinner table, to get the kids started thinking about these concepts early. But, as others have posted, don't read the whole thing in series. There is too much repitition and too little depth to cause this to be an exercise of any merit.

Harkius

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pretty Good Pedagogical Tool, January 12, 2007

By 

Errico - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher (Paperback)

This book is rather like a compendium of famous problems in philosophy, which have boiled down to a concentrated one or two pages each. This said, it is not helpful to someone who has a serious scholastic interest in philosophy but would make a fine tool for introducing philsophical thought to young people and children, for whom the reading of philosophical literature is too premature but can nonetheless benefit from the logical and critical thought developed by an engagement with philosophy. I think that this book could serve as a fine base for an extracurricular philosophy group for children and teenagers.