Just Finished Reading: Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar.... Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Daniel Klein and Thomas Cathcart (FP: 2006) [180pp] 

Even if I wasn’t hankering after some Philosophy reading after too long a break, it’d be hard to turn down a title like this one. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting from this slim volume but what it turned out to be was a high-level overview of various Philosophical Schools or viewpoints illustrated (kind of) by a scattering of fairly funny and generally related jokes. I think what I had hoped (or expected maybe?) was more focus on the philosophy of jokes – indeed on philosophy itself – which left me a bit disappointed in the whole thing.  As a gentle introduction into the world of philosophical thinking this wasn’t a bad effort. The addition of philosophically appealing jokes was a nice idea, especially as a few of them were really funny and rather philosophical too! Unfortunately, an Introduction to Philosophy wasn’t something I was looking for. Although it’s been a while since I’ve read any ‘real’ philosophical works – rather than general or pop-cultural works about philosophy – I didn’t really need to go back to basics. I’m not sure what else to say really, if you’re wondering what Philosophy is all about but are too afraid to dive straight in, this might just be the way to whet your appetite. If you already have some idea of the basics, then you’ll need something a bit more substantial to take you to the next level. Reasonable.   

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