Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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

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.

This book consists of 100 logical and moral puzzles. For example, a doctor is not allowed to end a patient life, yet if the janitor accidentally pulls the plug, the doctor is not required to put that plug back in. What is the difference?

These puzzles and brain teasers are like a greatest hits album covering the entire history of civilization. Some date back to Greek or Roman times, while others are far more modern, including the title entry which is based on a passage from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Few, if any, of the entries are original, as the author readily admits.

Each entry is occupies a page or less, and is then followed by a page or two of commentary. You can read and think about one entry for five or ten minutes, then put the book down for a while without losing continuity. Of course, these brief discussions are anything but exhaustive. Personally, I had read most or all of these puzzles before. Still, I found it interesting to see them presented in one succinct collection.

While an interesting effort, more often than not it's an irritating showcase for the author to flaunt his wit rather than truly facilitate an honest examination of perplexing philosophical or theological issues. Of course, Baggini has not reached the level of success he has by restraining his self-expression.

The book is 100, one-page summaries of philosophical, theological, moral and ethical quandries culled from books, films, and various sources dating back to ancient Greece and all the way up to the movie The Matrix. Some of these are fairly intact summaries of their original expression. Others have been modified by Baggini to remove what he feels are familiarizations that might prevent the reader from viewing the issue as objectively as possible. This is ironic, since particularly on theological issues, Baggini is anything but objective in his assessment (and often dismissal) of certain points of view. This editorializing might lead the naive reader into assuming that either Baggini is a genius who has solved the greatest puzzlers of the ages, or that these questions are really not as difficult and challenging as philosophers and theologians make them out to be.

This is a useful book for quickly exposing oneself to various realms of metaphysical and philosophical inquiry. Each one-page scenario is followed with a 2-3 page synopsis of the core issues that are perplexing, and usually a brief examination of the common approaches used by opposing or different schools of thought to resolve the situation. Generally the reader is left to sort out what seems to be the better option on their own, with the understanding that in most cases, there are challenges with any one particular solution.

Frustrations with Baggini center around the theological issues he brings up - and his depiction of the issue is often anything but objective, leading the reader already to determine that a Biblical or supernatural possibility is anything but possible. In addition to skewed renderings of the scenario, Baggini frequently follows up with his own lampooning of religious thought as something that no educated person would consider valid for a moment. This ultimately demeans the book, skews objectivity, and creates more often than not an indoctrination text instead of a genuine effort to honestly present various explanations.

Don't pick this book up late at night -- you'll have interesting questions buzzing around inside your head for hours, and never get any sleep. I'm looking forward to coming back to many of the sections in this book later and following up on them in other books.

Obviously this book contains more questions than answers. Come on, it says it's for "armchair philosophers," it has a picture of a pig on the cover, and there are 100 sections in 336 pages. No great depth is to be expected.

So what? The book does what it should: it gets me interested in classic thought exercises that have puzzled people for hundreds of years, clearly presents major points of view, and does it in a way that's highly accessible and makes me want to read more.

On one level, I enjoyed this. Many of the ethical challenges were very interesting, some rather trite. It might help to advertise that this book would ideally suit groups of people who want to explore some philosophical/ethical problems together, since it is not really a book to 'read' but rather to discuss and argue over.

This book is interesting to read and think about but would actually be much more entertaining if approached in a group setting. Some of the topics seem a bit "lite" for discussion but I assume the author needed to fill out all 100 items.

If you've ever caught yourself pondering what makes things right and wrong besides tradition you'll get a kick out of this book. The short sections make it easy to pick up for 10 minutes and put down while you ponder.

As a management consultant, I find myself drawn more and more to the Philosopher's way of thinking as we deal with complex subjects that do not always lend themselves to simple Right or Wrong.

This book contains quick snapshots of some of our major philosophical quandaries about rationality, morality and the line in the sand that differentiates between what is good and what can be viewed as evil (or immoral).

This book provides a guide into how to deal with these intriguing matters. While it may not go deep enough into the subject, the very process of putting it out there for discussion is valuable in many ways. Especially for the management student. And we are all students regardless of our length of tenure in the field.

I would also recommend this book for those forming new work teams. Its thought experiments and the way the teammates work through the process will yield a plethora of information that will guide the leader in team formation and areas of needed improvement. It's as if you were given a gift directly from the greatest leader of all time, the leader of the Endurance team.

I hope you find this review / opinion helpful.

Michael L Gooch, Author of Wingtips with Spurs.

This was the one of the random book purchase of 2011 for me and it has been about an year since I purchased this book. Since then I have read it many time and gave it away as a present to many. Needless to say this book became one of my all time favorite book and here is why.

First of all, this book is separated into 100 little thought experiments. If you are looking for long, focused and intense scrutiny on one topic like Sam Harris do, this book is not for you. But if you want a short thought experiment that will tease your brain daily and help you ponder about little things in reality or sudo reality, this book is perfect for you. Sure there are some thought experiment that seems little ridiculous, but some are rather profound. So much so that I believe some of the short thought experiments in "The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten", that are as long as 3 pages, carry horizon expending experience. Also, author doesn't talk about what is wrong or right answer for each situations, rather he leave the decision making and thinking to the reader, which I love. As a relativist/contexualist, I love the fact that author leave the decision up to each readers, leave decision up to each context.

Highly recommend this book.

Pros,

1. Short compact scenarios with explanations

2. Covers good area of philosophical problems of today.

3. Easy to share and talk about with friends because it's segmented.

4. Author doesn't necessary express what is right or wrong in each experiment, rather leave it up to the reader. Huge kudos for this one.

Cons,

1. Short, some stories can be extended.

2. Book is not durable, my paper back book binding got destroyed.