“The construction and payoff of jokes and the construction and payoff of philosophical concepts are made out of the same stuff. They tease the mind in the same ways…philosophy and jokes proceed from the same impulse: to confound our sense of the way things are, to flip our worlds upside down, and to ferret out hidden, often uncomfortable, truths about life. What the philosopher calls an insight, the gagster calls a zinger.”

Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Daniel Klein and Thomas Cathcart is a light and enjoyable read, taking an approach I never thought of before — explaining philosophical concepts through humour. There’s a lot of groan-worthy examples throughout, but the range of topics is pretty impressive and as a different kind of introduction, it’s one that I found a pleasant surprise. I’d recommend this one less as a study text, but certainly as a great present for anyone interested in getting a start on the subject, who also has a sense of humour.“My grandfather knew the exact time of the exact day of the exact year that he would die.”“Wow, what an evolved soul! How did it come to him?”“The judge told him.”

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