Product Description
This New York Times bestseller is the hilarious philosophy course everyone wishes they’d had in school Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors—and born vaudevillians—Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar . . . is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?) to Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything). Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read—and finally, it all makes sense!

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 157 reviews)

In The End, It's Just More Communist Drivel, Isn't It? by Buzzlife (Ashburn, VA)

1 Stars
November 20, 2009
I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say that I found most of the book entertaining, but I could never give communist propaganda any more than one star. I wouldn't want someone who values freedom to fund communism in any way. That's why I'm glad I didn't buy this book, but rather checked it out from the library. I should probably tear out all of the blatantly communist passages before I return it :) I could talk all day about how deluded people are for thinking that communism or even socialism are viable political models, but I'd probably just be wasting my time. So, I'll end with this passage from the book: "Under capitalism, man exploits his fellow man. Under communism, the opposite it true." For anyone that truly believes this, I suggest reading "The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression by Mark Kramer, Jonathan Murphy, Stephane Courtois, and Jean-Louis Panne". It's truly remarkable, the gifts that communism has given the world. "The destructive capacity of the individual, however vicious, is small; of the state, however well-intentioned, almost limitless." - Paul Johnson, Modern Times

Who said Philosophy was boring? by S. Venkatraman (Mumbai, India.)

5 Stars
November 14, 2009
I find philosophy fascinating but somehow don't usually manage to read Philosophy books completely. Somewhere in the middle either my interest trails off or someother book catches my fancy and I keep the book away for later reading which somehow seldom happens. The experience with 'Plato and Platypus' was altogether different. It simply was a page turner as possibly only a John Grisham thriller can be. It was as if my life outside the book came to a standstill; everything else could wait till I found out what Plato and Platypus did in the bar. And it made Philosophy stick to me. The formula used is very simple. First it gently introduces a philosophical concept in bite size, then shares a joke. Since the jokes are all of a very high quality, I had a good laugh after reading them. The connection between the joke and the philosophical concept is not always very obvious. So I read the concept and the joke once again and laughed all over again when this time the connection became apparent. Then I lingered over savouring the whole experince as I might after having tasted something delicious, before I rushed to the next concept for a repeat of a similar experience. Any formula if repeated too much is likely to become boring. So the authors kept making subtle variations so that though the the formula remained the same my interest never flagged. In the process not only did I have a great time reading the book, but without making any specific effort to memorise the concepts, I found that is what actually happened. Every time I recalled the jokes, I recalled the concepts as well and they have now become an inseparable part of me. The range of topics covered is mind-boggling - Metaphysics, Logic, Epistemology, Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, Existentialism, Social and Political Philosophy, Relativity and Meta Philosophy. Just as the sub-title of the book promises, you understand all of them even while laughing your way through the book. There was a sense of sadness when I finished reading the book but it was quite easy to get over it. I immediately ordered for the Heidegger and Aristotle books by the same authors and now I cannot wait till they arrived. Recommended without reservation.

a perspective adjuster by David Brockert (Madison, Wisconsin)

5 Stars
November 13, 2009
Who would have guessed such high commentary on life could be so funny? I have felt that politics could use some irreverent comment (such as, "Pro-life and pro-capital punishment - yea, let us save them to be born and kill them later.") as a perspective adjuster, and this book brings home the notion that even philosophy could use the same treatment. It is funny. It is pretty well developed. The ideas of philosophy are taken one at a time and the jokes are interspersed to add wit and wisdom.

Made me laugh for hours and also learn a bit about philosophy by Matthew Tibbenham

5 Stars
November 12, 2009
I love this book! I couldn't stop laughing while reading the book and I still can't stop. I (unlike most people) really enjoy philosophy and this book made it even more interesting. I really wish intro philosophy teachers would assign this book for their classes. It would really helps students appreciate philosophy more. The book is easy to read and most of the jokes are great and really help to bring the philosophical points home. The authors themselves are also funny. I laughed just as much from what the writers said as I did from the jokes throughout the book. I cannot wait to read the other books in this series and I will definitely recommend this book to all my friends.

Great little book. Solid effort. Enjoyable springboard reference. by Nova137

4 Stars
November 08, 2009
Plato and a Platypus walk into a bar...UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHY THROUGH JOKES Read August - November 2009 In the Introduction we find the first opening dialogue between "Dimitri" and "Tasso". In this dialogue is contained the very first philosophy lesson and the very first joke (aside from a nice one from Grocho Marx in the Dedication). These dialogues will show up after every other orange page except for the last two dialogues. Each of these orange pages breaks up a chapter in the book, except for the section of orange pages between the Final Exam and the Glossary. This section of orange pages contains the "Great Moments in the History of Philosophy" section. The orange color matches the books cover. The first philosophy lesson covers Infinite Regress. The infinite regress punch line is the famous, "Its turtles all the way down." which originates when it is asked who holds up Atlas. The reason it is a "punch line" comes from the fact that the dialogue starts very seriously with Dimitri asking Tasso what holds Atlas up? Tasso informs Dimitri that Atlas stands upon the back of a turtle. Thus, we have a serious physical based enquiry answered with a serious physical based answer. But we are speaking figuratively about Atlas and the world, yes, and yet we answer him by saying he, in fact, is standing on the back of a turtle... and not just hovering there with his own will. The turtle, of course, stands on another turtle, "My dear Dimitri, it's turtles all the way down!", answers Tasso. Its a punch line. The author's explain it like this, "...when we ask if there is a First Cause--of life, of the universe, of time and space, and most significantly, of a Creator...It's Creators all the way down--or up, if that seems like the right direction for chasing down Creators." This quoted portion of this lesson is the 2nd punch line (second joke covering the same topic). It plays with the "up/down" dichotomy associated with thinking about "Creators" and "Heavenly directions", further emphasizing the Infinite Regress lesson of the dialogue by cleverly replacing the word "turtles" with "Creators" and getting in a laugh at the expense of Infinite Regress and the postulate of a Creator to stop its regression. Beautifully done. The very next paragraph is the first of 29 special sections. These special sections are paragraphs delineated by two orange lines, one above with a symbol midway between the line's endpoints and one below the paragraph with no such symbol. They are also done in the orange type indicating that they are of special significance to the topic at hand. Here is what this first special section says: _____________________________________________&_________________________________________________ "If you find that infinite regress is getting you nowhere fast, you might consider the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo--creation out of nothing--or, as John Lennon put it in a slightly different context, 'Before Elvis, there was nothing.'" _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Perfectly played. The book is filled with all of these little philosophical/joke nuances and other special effects that make it a whole lot more than its 215 pages (including the Index) and small size would convey. I do not believe a person, any person (especially someone not educated in philosophy) can make judgements of any real worth about the accuracy of any joke's reflection on the philosopical topic, at hand, in a single reading. This book will have to be studied, in-depth, by going over the author's statements of the philosophical topic, at hand, and then going over the joke, again, and then back to the subject, at hand, to make sure the philosophical topic is understood and to assure that the joke's content and meaning is clearly understood. Philosophical concepts, I've found, are slippery little fellas and the slightest inattention to some detail will destroy what is being conveyed and, thus, ruin any attempt at understanding the subject matter. This book should not be construed as offering enough philosophical depth for a layperson to get every joke. If a joke is not understood in the context of the philosophical topic being discussed, it is the readers responsibility to reread the material. If the reader still doesn't get it, it suggested that the reader use the internet to find out more about the philosophical topic at hand. Given the often crude and down-right cruel nature of "jokes", the reader is advised that not all of the material is suitable for "younger" audiences nor persons of more delicate tastes. For me, a person who usually prefers political correctness (PC) within a proper context, I say, "Thank you!" as jokes are not "PC". Buy it today.

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