Synopses & Reviews
A humorous philosophical investigation into the existence of Santaand#151;from a co-executive producer ofand#160;The Big Bang Theory
Metaphysics isnand#8217;t ordinarily much of a laughing matter. But in the hands of acclaimed comedy writer and scholar Eric Kaplan, a search for the truth about old St. Nick becomes a deeply insightful, laugh-out-loud discussion of the way some things exist but may not really be there. Just like Santa and his reindeer.
Even after we outgrow the jolly fellow, the essential paradox persists: There are some things we dearly believe in that are not universally acknowledged as real. Inand#160;Does Santa Exist?and#160;Kaplan shows how philosophy giants Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein strove to smooth over this uncomfortable meeting of the real and unrealand#151;and failed. From there he turns to mysticismand#8217;s attempts to resolve such paradoxes, surveying Buddhism, Taoism, early Christianity, Theosophy, and even the philosophers at UC Berkeley under whom he studied. Finally, this brilliant comic writer alights onand#151;surpriseand#151;comedy as the ultimate resolution of the fundamental paradoxes of life, using examples fromand#160;The Big Bang Theory, Monty Pythonand#8217;s cheese shop sketch, and many other pop-culture sources.
Finally Kaplan delves deeper into what this means, from how our physical brains work to his own personal confrontations with lifeand#8217;s biggest questions: If weand#8217;re all going to die, whatand#8217;s the point of anything? What is a perfect moment? What can you say about God? Or Santa?
Review
"I laughed, I learned, I loved it!" Roy Blount Jr.
Synopsis
Here's a lively, hilarious, not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical traditions, schools, concepts, and thinkers; it's Philosophy 101 for everyone who knows not to take all this heavy stuff too seriously. Some included Big Ideas are Philosophy of Religion (a priest and a rabbi are stranded on a desert island...), Existentialism (what do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?), Ethics and Aesthetics (a dog and a cat are sitting in this tree...), Language ("It depends what your definition of is is"), and much more. Finally it all makes sense!
Synopsis
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, everyone is familiar with the tired clichés: women are bad drivers and are not good with money; only guys play video games and they give bad directions. Dan Abrams tackles the toughest case of his career in
Man Down. Drawing on years of legal experience and research studies, Abrams explains step-by-step why women are better than men in just about every way imaginable, from managing money to flying planes to living longer. Abrams uses his trademark charm to get his point across without opining on the issue himself. Chock-full of fun facts and conversation starters, this book may not end the debate of men versus women, but it will definitely make it more interesting.
Praise for Man Down:
"a provocative collection of bite-size pro-women essays"
-Wall Street Journal
"compelling, controversial"
-Glamour
"I've always liked Dan Abrams. And now that he's charmingly admitted what we all knew anyway, I like him even more!"
-Liz Smith
Synopsis
Teaches philosophy through one-liner jokes, vaudeville humor, cartoons, and limericks.
About the Author
Dan Abrams is the legal analyst for
Good Morning America and ABC News, as well as the founder of the Abrams Media Network. He has published articles in the
New York Times, the
Wall Street Journal,
Newsweek, the
American Lawyer, and the
Yale Law and Policy Review, among many others. He has also written for online media such as the Huffington Post, the Daily Beast, and, of course, regularly for Mediaite. He is also the legal columnist for
Men's Health magazine.
Abrams, a Columbia University School of Law grad, was previously chief legal analyst for NBC News. He was general manager of MSNBC, during which time ratings grew by 62 percent and he branded the network "The Place for Politics." Prior to his management appointment, Abrams hosted The Abrams Report, a nightly legal affairs program, and later Verdict with Dan Abrams.
In the past two years the Abrams Media Network has launched media news site Mediaite.com, fashion and style site Styleite.com, Geekosystem.com, TheMarySue.com, and Sportsgrid.com. He is also the cofounder of Gossipcop.com, the first major website to police the gossip industry for inaccuracies in reporting. Dan has never been married, so despite his admiration for women, evidenced by this book, that does not mean he necessarily knows how to talk to them.
Follow Dan on Twitter: @DanielAbrams.
Table of Contents
Philogagging: an introduction -- Metaphysics -- Logic -- Epistemology -- Ethics -- Philosophy of religion -- Existentialism -- Philosophy of language -- Social and political philosophy -- Relativity -- Meta-philosophy -- Summa time: a conclusion.