Do Llamas Fall in Love?: 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles

by Peter Cave

The sensational follow-up to the bestsellers Can a Robot be Human? and What's Wrong with Eating People?In this stunning sequel to his bestselling philosophy books, "Can a Robot be Human?" and "What's Wrong with Eating People", Peter Cave once again engages the reader in a romp through the best bits of philosophical thought. With the aid of tall stories, jokes, common sense and bizarre insights, Cave tackles some of life's most important questions and introduces the puzzles that will keep you pondering throughout the night. Illustrated with quirky cartoons throughout, "Do Llamas Fall in Love?" leaves no stone unturned, covering a smorgasbord of topics including logic, ethics, art and politics. It will provide a perfect gift for anyone who puzzles about the world.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Reference, Humor

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 2010

About the author

Peter Cave lectures in philosophy for The Open University and New York University (London). He frequently contributes to philosophy magazines and journals, lectures around the world, and has scripted and presented philosophy programmes for the BBC. He is the author of eight books on philosophy, including Humanism: A Beginner’s Guide and the bestselling Can a Robot be Human?: 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles.

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this one up in the Kindle sale, because I kind of couldn't resist the title. It's not actually as funny as it sounds, though it is at times amusing: mostly it's a collection of little philosophical puzzles to chew over, presented in a reasonably simple and easy to digest way. It treats most of the issues very flippantly -- which was a little discomforting when it was dealing with the ethics of making sure people with disabilities don't come to be, which I know a lot of my friends are very uncomfortable with as an idea.

The short chapters make it easy to read between doing other things, anyway, and the crossreferencing at the end of each chapter to related chapters might be quite an interesting way to read it if I wasn't such a linear person.

[jiongwei lua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do LLamas Fall in Love? is an anthology of 33 philosophical puzzles, which ATTEMPTS to deal with the various disciplines which philosophy pervades so deeply yet inconspicuously. Being one of my first few readings of philosophy, I found the book rather refreshing and intriguing, as Cave slowly and cogently dissected the various logical conundrums. While enjoyable, it still fell short of my expectations.

I would highly recommend this book to younger readers (15 and below) instead, as I found some of the topics rather shallow and far short of the intellectual stimulus I was after. It's a pretty good read because Cave does explain the various philosophical dilemmas with immense clarity, but doesn't merit me awarding four or five stars because the philosophy puzzles presented, while intriguing, does an injustice to the complexity and perplexity of the intellectual impasses we so frequently face in the world. A worthy read to pass time, but not the type of philosophy book that I consider a keeper.

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first philosophical book and it took me a sheer amount of grit and willpower to finish it 😅

There were some interesting topics addressed, particularly the topics on god, life, and moral dilemmas.

“Consider the proposal that goodness (including rightness) is what is commanded by God: to say that protecting innocent human life is good is to say that God commands it. The idea is that goodness is determined by some supreme authority which we should obey. The natural question that follows is: how does God determine what is good and hence what to command? .....”

Somewhere along my life, I’ve brooded over such questions. The above extract crossed my mind several times but I’ve never gotten down to really putting them to words. When I came across that paragraph, it was a hit with me immediately.

Peter Cave discussed a range of complex dilemmas in the book, but there was never a wrong or right answer provided. He addressed both sides, and the answer is for you to make. I’ve never come across a topic that shows him favouring a side, though I admit I’ve breeze read most of the topics at the second half to the end. Despite this, I appreciate the careful display of both sides of the argument. I do not however enjoy the preambles to every topic introduced. Some of them help to visualise the problem at hand, but many lack engagement and were not perfect examples to show.

I’m not sure if this is the average experience that you will get from a philosophical book, but I have a mind not to read another one anytime soon...

[Alan Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a genuinely funny and thought provoking book. It tackles important philosophical issues in an accessible and enjoyable manner. The issues and topics are wide ranging, from free-will, human rights  and the nature of knowing to the problems of sharing your lymphatic system with an attached violinist.

Short, puzzling and witty chapter, perfect for the bedside table.

[YHC · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no idea what's wrong with this Chinese edition that i read..I was wondering how come i could not capture the main point of each chapter, therefore I checked the review and turned out there are many critics about bad translation.
I don't have the English version to compare. still I read till chapter 27, i have to admit that i can not get to learn anything since it was like walking outside of a house without stepping inside. You can not see what's in there.
Hopefully this is really poor translation, otherwise it's really very disappointing!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay, bit like reading a newspaper.

[Areeg Samy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good entrance to light philosophy through everyday questions and situations that raise philosophical dilemmas and paradoxes. Easy to read and understand through simplified examples, stories and illustrations.

[Jessie B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of philosophical paradoxes and puzzles, some easier to understand than others but illustrating some philosophical problems in a colourful way.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

یک معرفی خیلی خوب از مسائل فلسفی. می‌شه برای مخاطب نوجوان ترجمه‌ش کرد. آی کال دیبز. :)