Review of 'Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes," by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

 Review of

Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, ISBN 9780143113874

Four out of five stars

 Works well with a bit of foreknowledge

 This book is designed to demonstrate and teach the fundamentals of philosophy. While it works well, philosophy is such a complex subject that it is often necessary to understand at least some of the basics in order to understand the jokes. There is some explanatory text before most of the jokes, yet not always sufficient to lay the necessary groundwork for the novice.

 Some of the jokes are well known, having been passed around and retold many times since they were first created. For example, there is the one about two friends going to a bank and while they are there it is robbed. When the thieves tell all the patrons to hand over all their money and valuables, one of them slips something into the other’s pocket. When the recipient asks what was passed, the other one says, “That’s the fifty bucks I owe you.”

 This is a fun book to read and if you do so you will be exposed to most of the basic principles of philosophy. Even if you aren’t into that genre, it is worth reading just for the jokes.

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