Plato and a Platypus Go Into a Bar

Aristotle and the Greek Philosophers Might Be Appalled

Oct 29, 2007

A book loaded with philosophy and delicious humor.

Authors Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein have penned an improbable book of philosophy and humor titled Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes.

The authors claim that philosophy and humor have similar constructions, "to confound our sense of the way things are ... and ferret out hidden, often uncomfortable truths about life."

The following excerpt, authorized by the book's publicist, is from a chapter on the philosophy of religion, and exemplifies the authors' unusual method of illustrating difficult philosophical content with vaudeville-like humor.

Belief in God

An agnostic is a person who thinks that God's existence cannot be proved on the basis of current evidence, but who doesn't deny the possibility that God exists. The agnostic is one step short of an atheist, who considers the case against the existence of God closed. If both of them came across a burning bush saying, "I am that I am," the agnostic would start looking for the hidden tape recorder, but the atheist would just shrug and reach for his marshmallows.

Atheists are another story. Philosophers agreed long ago that it is fruitless for believers and atheists to argue with each other. This is because they interpret everything differently. In order to argue, there must be some common ground, so that one of the participants can say, "Aha! If you concede x, then you must also concede y!" Atheists and believers never find an x they can agree upon. The argument can never begin, because each sees everything from his own point of view. That's a little abstract, but this story brings it down to earth -- in fact, right into the neighborhood.

A little old Christian lady comes out onto her front porch every morning and shouts, "Praise the Lord!"

As time goes by, the lady runs into financial difficulties and has trouble buying food. She goes out onto the porch and asks God for help with groceries, then says, "Praise the Lord!"

The next morning when she goes out onto the porch, there are the groceries she asked for. Of course, she shouts, "Praise the Lord!"

The atheist jumps out from behind a bush and says. "Ha! I bought those groceries. There is no God!"

The lady looks at him and smiles. She shouts, "Praise the Lord! Not only did you provide for me, Lord, you made Satan pay for the groceries!"

The copyright of the article Plato and a Platypus Go Into a Bar in Personal Development is owned by Jerry Lopper. Permission to republish Plato and a Platypus Go Into a Bar in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.