Synopses & Reviews
Review
Praise for
The Pig That Wants to Be EatenHugely entertaining.” Publishers Weekly
Thinking again is what this taut, incisive, bullet-hard book is dedicated to promoting.” The Sunday Times (London)
This book is like the Sudoku of moral philosophy: apply your mind to any of its thought experiments while stuck on the Tube, and quickly be transported out of rush-hour hell.” New Statesman (U.K.)
Praise for The Duck That Won the Lottery
A curiosity cabinet of spurious reasoning and spin . . . Every society needs its guardian of good sense: Baggini is ours.” Financial Times
Praise for Whats It All About?
Useful and provocative.” The Wall Street Journal
Looking for a clear guide to what contemporary philosophy has to say about the meaning of life? Baggini takes us through all the plausible answers, weaving together Kierkegaard, John Stuart Mill, Monty Python, and Funkadelic in an entertaining but always carefully reasoned discussion.” Peter Singer, author of How Are We To Live
A work of popular philosophy that is simple, serious and devoid of ostentation. The question of the meaning of life has long been a byword for pretentious rambling. It takes some nerve to tackle it in a brisk and no-nonsense fashion.” New Statesman (U.K.)
Informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining in the process. The book takes a refreshingly personal approach and offers an encounter with a vigorous mind at work, puzzling through the issues in a trenchantly argued but subtly reasoned way.” New Humanist
Synopsis
Life is not a dress rehearsal.” Rose TremainIts easy saying what things are not. Life is not a bed of roses, God is not an old man sitting in a cloud, winning isnt everything. Some negations, however, are more informative than others. Thinking about why an egg is not an elephant wont get you very far, whereas realizing life is not a dress rehearsal might. Its a reminder that this life is a one-shot deal, and if you mess it up, theres no second try.”
In Should You Judge This Book by Its Cover philosopher Julian Baggini examines the meanings behind a host of everyday expressions. Is it really always better to practice what you preach? To do as the Romans do? To be safe, not sorry?
In his quest for clarity in everyday language, Baggini leaves no saying behind as he considers such expressions as You can lead a horse to water, but you cant make him drink” and If it aint broke, dont fix it.” Far from a reference book, this entertaining collection is full of short, stimulating capsules of defiantly clear thinking that are meant to fuel thought and conversation.
Synopsis
A philosopher takes a second look at sayings, proverbs, and bits of homespun wisdom: "Every society needs its guardian of good sense: Baggini is ours." --The Financial Times These short, stimulating, and entertaining capsules of philosophy delve into the familiar words that live in our consciousness yet are rarely examined. Should you really do as the Romans do when in Rome and practice what you preach? Is the grass always in fact greener on the other side of the fence, and is there ever smoke without fire? Is beauty always in the eye of the beholder and is it actually better to be safe than sorry?
From the popular author of The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten, cofounder of The Philosophers' Magazine, and academic director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, this is a witty, deeply thought-provoking reminder that we should never stop asking questions.