Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar...: Understanding Philosopy Through Jokes (Audio CD)

by Thomas Cathcart (Author), Daniel Klein (Author), Johnny Heller (Narrator)

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Recorded Books (July 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1428173765
• ISBN-13: 978-1428173767
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #210,620 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty and Instructive, December 19, 2007

By	Kevin R. C. Gutzman (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

If you would like a review of basic concepts and figures in the history of philosophy, here is the audio set you need. You will be laughing from the first to the last, whether the subject is cows and pi, blondes and craps, or women in a fitness club dressing room. Hilarious and educational: what more could you want? The title joke is the climax, and it will have you at once cracking up and realizing how much you've learned along the way. You'll love it!

3.0 out of 5 stars Just OK, at best, May 12, 2009

By	Irfan A. Alvi (Towson, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let me first note that I listened to the unabridged audio version of this book, and didn't read the print book. I didn't care for the audio narration, so that surely diminished my overall assessment of the book.

The book basically provides a broad overview of Western philosophy, with some token Eastern philosophy thrown in here and there. The breadth is actually pretty good, so you wind up hearing about most of the key issues, philosophers, schools, and concepts.

But this is a short book, so its breadth comes at the expense of a rather shallow and superficial treatment. For example, for some philosophers, you get just a sentence or two, and then the book moves on.

Because of this shallowness, I can't really even call this book an introduction to philosophy. Rather, it's more like a primer to philosophy, at best. In other words, if someone has had very limited exposure to philosophy, they could go through this book to get an idea of what philosophy is about, to see if they want to explore the subject further, but you couldn't actually learn philosophy in any meaningful way from this book.

And for those already versed in philosophy, I think the book may be too shallow to even serve as a useful quick review.

Considering all of this, one might hope that the real added value of the book is in its connecting philosophy and humor, and that does seem like a good idea (which is why I bought the book). But I think the book also falls short here. For me, the attempts at humor were hit or miss, and more often miss. The inadequate narration probably contributed to this, so maybe the print book is funnier, but I'm not in a position to judge that.

The bottom line is that I can't really recommend the book because the treatment is too superficial and the humor didn't generally work for me. But others might get more out of it, so maybe peruse a print copy or listen to an audio sample to help you decide.

4.0 out of 5 stars Painless intro to philosophy, November 14, 2008

By	Bookworm "jcc" (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews

I wish I'd had this book 35 years ago when I was studying philosophy in college. It would have kept me awake in a few classes that I'd love to forget.