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Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through the Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explain Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between
From the authors of the bestselling Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar, an uproarious new book on the meaning of death (and life, too)
The new book by the bestselling authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar is a hilarious take on the philosophy, theology, and psychology of mortality and immortality. That is, Death. The authors pry open the coffin lid on this one,...more
The new book by the bestselling authors of Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar is a hilarious take on the philosophy, theology, and psychology of mortality and immortality. That is, Death. The authors pry open the coffin lid on this one,...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
October 20th 2009
by Viking Adult
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This book actually reminded me of a dream that I made up. I'm at a hotel in the Catskills, and hundreds of once-upon-a-time comedians are competing for a chance to host SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE or replace greeters at Walmart -- whatever. So one guy after another does his "shtick"; I'm "plotzing" because even a Passover Seder is funnier and because the waiters aren't schlepping any big trays of food. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of men with beards and black hats; they're frantical...more
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The title says it all... and obviously, with a title like that, you ought not to expect anything particularly deep, or too subtle (though the authors do tackle some of the complexities, they do tend to shy away from actually confronting them too deeply) — though, if you want depth, you can always follow up with some of the books included in the suggested books for further reading at the and of the book! Even so, the book covers most of the main ideas people have had about this vexed and often ...more
It is written in a humorous, conversational style interspersed with imaginary dialogue, cartoons, and jokes. The color changes and cartoons make this a good book qua book. In other word, Id not want to read the kindle version without pictures and color. Some of the jokes are better than others, but overall they were pretty clever and relevant to the philosophical points they accompany.
Its thought provoking, but not deep. Stimulating, but doesn't dive into the nitty gritty of these issu...more
Its thought provoking, but not deep. Stimulating, but doesn't dive into the nitty gritty of these issu...more
The book provides a light-hearted look at the meaning of life and death as discussed by a number of philosophers, theologians, and scientists. Liberally illustrated with cartoons and jokes, it is best taken in small doses. I didn't find it as funny or as insightful as Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar, but it was a fun read. For someone with a limited exposure to philosophical thought, it might inspire further reading. I did enjoy and think well deserved the fun made of Heidegger's convoluted...more
*Note: Copied from the review on my blog - http://worldwritsmall.wordpress.com
In keeping with my recent theme of reading books concerned with death, real or imaginary and totally unintentional on my part, I have finished Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. The mention of pearly gates should give you a clear indication that this book is about death; Heidegger’s name lends to it a hint that some philosophy will be involved and the ...more
In keeping with my recent theme of reading books concerned with death, real or imaginary and totally unintentional on my part, I have finished Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. The mention of pearly gates should give you a clear indication that this book is about death; Heidegger’s name lends to it a hint that some philosophy will be involved and the ...more
[To be printed in The Sacramento Book Review]
The joking-philosopher duo are back, and this time around they have delved deeply into the realms of man's mortality. In a wonderfully written, well-paced romp through the philosophy of Death (and Life), Cathcart and Klein cover the likes of Keirkegaard, Heidegger, Husserl, Sartre, Freud and William James—blended with public polls, scientific discoveries, and theories of the future (from cryogenetics to teleportation) . And whereas most books of this ...more
The joking-philosopher duo are back, and this time around they have delved deeply into the realms of man's mortality. In a wonderfully written, well-paced romp through the philosophy of Death (and Life), Cathcart and Klein cover the likes of Keirkegaard, Heidegger, Husserl, Sartre, Freud and William James—blended with public polls, scientific discoveries, and theories of the future (from cryogenetics to teleportation) . And whereas most books of this ...more
When I first saw this book, I thought it would be great. After all, it treats on the serious subjects of life, death and the afterlife- using humor to offset the gravity of the topics.
I thought I'd learn something along the way, and I did. I learned that philosophers present their guesses as truth in spite of the fact that their various takes cannot possibly all be true- or even necessarily close. I wanted something empirical; I got a lot of speculation masquerading as that.
...more
I thought I'd learn something along the way, and I did. I learned that philosophers present their guesses as truth in spite of the fact that their various takes cannot possibly all be true- or even necessarily close. I wanted something empirical; I got a lot of speculation masquerading as that.
...more
trina
rated it
Recommends it for:
impatient folks who don't like philosophy but enjoy jokes
Shelves:
non-fiction-equals-not-not-real
fluffy little book of philosophy for people like me who have no patience for the absurd circumlocution of most philosophers and the ridiculous abstraction of the topics they cover. covers everyone from socrates, the father of philosophy, to martin heidegger and why he won't get into heaven over a hippo, and woody allen (ne allan stewart konigsberg). replete with jokes and comics and colloquialisms, and an imaginary everyman named daryl who is petrified of death and wants our authors to reassure ...more
A fun and funny overview of the various approaches to belief in the afterlife (or not), combined with some nice jokes, to wit:
The monitor confirmed cardiac arrest as an elderly man suddenly lost consciousness. After about twenty seconds of resuscitation, he came to. Explaining to him that his heart had momentarily stopped, the doctor asked if he remembered anything unusual during that time....more
"I saw a bright light," he said, "and in front of me a man dressed i
Written by two men who majored in philosophy at Harvard and who have pursued varied careers since, this book is illuminating and funny. It examines the philosophical issues of life and death and the possibility of life after death, quoting Western thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to William James, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, Sartre, Camus, and Woody Allen -- and Eastern philosophy as well. One chapter explores the idea that eternity is right now, not after death when many think it will be. Anot...more
This made for a somewhat odd workout book. Here I am, sweating away on my exersize machine reading a humorous philosophical exploration of death. Most of the book is actually made up of humorous anecdotes and jokes, most of which are only mildly funny. The actual philosophical bits aren't bad and for a very basic introduction for someone who may not know anything at all about philosophy I can see how this works. I don't want to be a snob, but it shouldn't need to go to this extreme (as in, n...more
I had read these guys' earlier book, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, and just had to pick this one up when I saw it. Here, they use their brand of humor (well-crafted chestnuts, best read in a Jewish grandfather voice) to explore the concept of death. Shopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Heidegger and many others, all explained through the magic of humor. Fun and thought-provoking.
While not as funny as the authors seem to think it is, this book is a good way to read about some of the fundamental philosophical questions without collapsing under the weight.
As a Science Fiction fan, I was especially interested in the last chapter that dealt with immortality, a subject many SF books deal with.
The Jokes, like Jokes are a bit stale, but they are tied to a deeper meaning and that gives them a bit of extra umpff.
If you know people that love tellin...more
As a Science Fiction fan, I was especially interested in the last chapter that dealt with immortality, a subject many SF books deal with.
The Jokes, like Jokes are a bit stale, but they are tied to a deeper meaning and that gives them a bit of extra umpff.
If you know people that love tellin...more
The authors quote William Saroyan in the Introduction "Everybody has got to die, but I always believed an exception would be made in my case." Humans understand the concept of life cycle, but avert our gaze at cycle endpoint. It's easier to use Woody Allen as our guide to contemplating death than the universe.
Mingling Schopenhauer, Woody Allen, the apostle Paul, Gautama the Buddha, Descartes, Freud, Socrates, Einstein ("spooky action at a distance") and cartoons i...more
Mingling Schopenhauer, Woody Allen, the apostle Paul, Gautama the Buddha, Descartes, Freud, Socrates, Einstein ("spooky action at a distance") and cartoons i...more
Audio book version. A fun look at philosophical views on self, being, life, death, afterlife & immortality using humor & jokes to illustrate. Lots of references to movies, etc gave it a pop-culture feel. The section on various ideas about extending life through genetic manipulation, cloning, digital copying of brain, etc brought to mind so many SF books and stories. Narrators tended a little toward the hokey delivery at times but otherwise were funny and kept it moving along and an interestin...more
Still very fun title. Sort of a fun treatment if you can imagine a fun treatment of philosphy of death. :-) There were jokes. The philosophy wasn't particulary deep. NOT a book for philosophical "beginners" really--this is really a book of "jokes" that make at least partial insiders feel smart and savvy because they know why it's funny. :-) I do have to give the authors SOME credit, as no one has ever made me laugh before while reading/reading about Heidegger or Schope...more
On the topic of philosophie books.
The problem with almost all of them is, that they either are too serious, so you can hardly enjoy them on an easy basis (only enjoy them out of interest on the topic) or are so easy going that they don't really touch the subject with enough depth.
This book is a good exaple of a book that tried to be both and that explained the theories quite well without beeing too complicated to read on holidays. Its fun and gives you a rough idea of the diffrent...more
The problem with almost all of them is, that they either are too serious, so you can hardly enjoy them on an easy basis (only enjoy them out of interest on the topic) or are so easy going that they don't really touch the subject with enough depth.
This book is a good exaple of a book that tried to be both and that explained the theories quite well without beeing too complicated to read on holidays. Its fun and gives you a rough idea of the diffrent...more
Not as good as Plato and a Platypus (seems to contain fewer jokes), but true to the title and sticks to the topic. Lots of gallows humor.
The narrower philosophical field might help explain the jocular limitation, but I think a big part of the reason I liked Plato and Platypus more is the audiobook reader: P&P is read by a professional reader who does a great job with the accents and joke-telling, whereas H&H is read by the two authors (something I normally prefer), who don't have quite...more
The narrower philosophical field might help explain the jocular limitation, but I think a big part of the reason I liked Plato and Platypus more is the audiobook reader: P&P is read by a professional reader who does a great job with the accents and joke-telling, whereas H&H is read by the two authors (something I normally prefer), who don't have quite...more
I love these books -- learning philosophy through jokes and in this case "using philosophy (and jokes!) to explore life, death, the afterlife, and everything in between".
Raised in a funeral home, I've heard most of these jokes, stories, etc. before, but this is the best story that I read in the book:
Under the heading "The Perverted Will-to-Live on Death Row"
An Italian, a Frenchman, and an American are about to be executed. They're told they...more
Raised in a funeral home, I've heard most of these jokes, stories, etc. before, but this is the best story that I read in the book:
Under the heading "The Perverted Will-to-Live on Death Row"
An Italian, a Frenchman, and an American are about to be executed. They're told they...more
A funny, cliff notes guide to various philosophers' theories about death. At first, I was completely enthralled with Cathcart and Klein's jokes, but after I made it about halfway through the book, I became fatigued. Surprisingly, I wanted more depth, which is not at all what this book promises. Jokes and summaries are good to get you hooked, but ultimately, there is something dissatisfying about only learning the gist of all these thinkers theories. Oh well. Still not a bad thing to pick up, alt...more
Interesting, and informative. It's rather cursory, though, and seemed more watered down than their previous two books. This is probably due to the subject material--instead of having specific philosophers or political systems to systematically make their way through, they have ideas to cover in a broader manner. It's resulted in more generalities and some rather banal explanations and definitely fewer jokes. Still enjoyable, though.
The third in their series, and probably the least compelling (initiates are better off reading Plato and a Platypus), Cathcart and Klein attempt to illuminate different cultural, religious and philosophical approaches to death and afterlife using jokes as the prism through which they project their essays. They're good teachers and this book certainly has its moments (the chapter on Existentialism was particularly good), but the connections to the jokes often feels forced and the quality of the j...more
A good overview of some of the different philosophies surrounding life and death all mixed in with a little humor. Most of the jokes are the 'single-chuckle' kind but a few really resonate with some truth. The itneresting thing to me reading this is I could see all the different views in the book have been expressed to me by families and patients in my line of work.
Very enjoyable read! The authors do a wonderful job of combining funny jokes and witticisms with heavy philosophic thought. Its an easy read that one can find both entertaining and informative. Written in such a fashion that makes haughty philosophical ideas approachable to the non-philosophy major, yet includes many comical insights that will keep the most educated readers entertained as well. I found the segments on our societies ideas of heaven and nanotechnology the most informative and ...more
I picked this book up in an airport on the way to mexico. It did not take long to polish it off. Its a pleasant and humorous compilation of philosophies and theologies on death. My favorite quote would have to be:
"The possibility to transcend what one has become is always there"
It gives me hope.
"The possibility to transcend what one has become is always there"
It gives me hope.
This book is exactly what the title describes. Kind of like philosophy 101 with interspersed jokes and cultural references. I like books that tie together academic thought with contemporary events and media. I have a whole list of strange sounding movies and books to read because of all the references in this book. Also it's not depressing like the Denial of Death book they keep referring to. Right on!
I somehow missed taking any philosophy classes in college, so I really appreciated getting to know more about some of the great thinkers and their world views through jokes! I may even use this space at some point in the future to tag list all of the jokes in the book. Freakin hilarious!
So wonderful!! What a great way to get a taste of philosophers and their beliefs....through jokes! Laughed my way through this book and loved every minute of it. Shared many of the jokes with my family and tried to remember some of the philosophers and their theories along the way.
A notch below "Plato and a Platypus...", but a very good introductory read for those -- like me -- who are interested in studying different philosophical approaches to the question of death. The end is (surprisingly) touching (bit I won't spoil it for you).
Very light reading - this is a joke book drawing on material from different philosophers' take on the nature of the soul, what places await, and what happens after death. Fun read but don't expect any real understanding of philosophy after this
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| Won it but it hasn't arrived yet :( | 2 | 9 | Dec 10, 2009 08:43pm |
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Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein wrote the bestselling Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, which will be translated into more than a dozen languages. Not bad for a couple of philosophy majors from Harvard who tried on various careers after graduation. Tom worked with street gangs in Chicago, doctors at Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and dropped in and out o...more
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