Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar…

By Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein

The subtitle of this book is “Understanding Philosophy through Jokes,” but even

if you don’t have a working knowledge of philosophy after reading this book, at least you

may enjoy the jokes. The authors take us on very brief journeys through terms like

phenomenology and existentialism with periodic quizzes throughout the book and a

“bonus quiz” at the end to see if you have been paying attention.

Philosophy in all its many varieties developed to try to answer the Big questions

like “Who is God?” and “What is the meaning of it all?” I guess so far philosophers

haven’t really succeeded since those questions never go away. Philosophy is a discipline

of language, finding words to talk about all of these important questions. Lest that makes

it sound unimportant and not something you do on a regular basis, it most assuredly is

not. Our lives are governed in many ways by our philosophies even if we never articulate

them. Our philosophy of education, for example, involves far more than our opinions

about whether we should teach foreign languages or teach algebra in third grade. It is

what we have learned over the years about what it means to be educated. Our philosophy

provides the framework for why we feel and think as we do about what is happening in

our schools. Forever, it seems, a much-debated question is whether the purpose of

education is to produce well-read, well-rounded people or just to produce a new

generation of workers. The structure of that sentence will probably be a clue to my

philosophy.
 One particularly interesting section has to do with the philosophy of law which

asks the question, “What is the purpose of laws?” I suspect you already have a

philosophy about that purpose which may fit nicely into one of these theories. One

theory derived from Aristotle’s ethics is that laws should help us develop good character.

Another theory, deontology, says that the purpose is to “codify moral duties.” Yet a third

philosopher, Jeremy Bentham says that the purpose of laws is to produce the greatest

good for the greatest number of people. Does it make any difference which we

embrace? I think it ultimately does. Consider this joke that the authors tell. A judge

calls two opposing lawyers into his chambers and says that each has given him a bribe.

As they squirm in their seats, the judge says that Alan gave him $15,000 while Phil gave

him $10,000. The judge has decided to return $5000 to Alan. Now that they are even,

he can “decide this case solely on its merits”.

This is a book which you will enjoy more in small doses. Despite its mere 200

pages, it provides a lot of food for thought…and some good jokes! Who knows where

this introduction to philosophy might lead you. May I close with one of their really bad

jokes, this one about the nature of infinity? “Two cows are standing in the pasture. One

turns to the other and says, ‘Although pi is usually abbreviated to five numbers, it

actually goes on into infinity.’ The second cow turns to the first and says, ‘Moo’”.

This philosophical gem is available in paperback for $12 and is published by

Penguin.