14 quotes
One criterion to bear in mind when choosing a religion is where its particular afterlife is being held.
Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates – Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterl (2009)
A perennial favorite hidden assumption is that something is morally right because it is “natural,” the way Mother Nature intended it.
Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington – Understanding Political Doublespeak through Philosophy and Jokes (2008)
A fundamental problem with arguments from analogy is the assumption that, because some aspects of A are similar to B, other aspects of A are similar to B. It ain’t necessarily so.
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar – Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes (2007)
The bottom line is that the values we think are timeless and absolute are really in constant historical flux relative to who has power and how it gets used.
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar – Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes (2007)
Another problem with following Divine Law is interpretation. What exactly qualifies as honoring thy father and mother?
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar – Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes (2007)
It is often said that all of life is high school—over and over again. But we beg to differ, at least when it comes to political rhetoric, where a good part of life is grade school.
Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington – Understanding Political Doublespeak through Philosophy and Jokes (2008)
Cum hoc and post hoc arguments so much of their appeal to our fanciful/poetic sides, which, from a strict philosopher’s point of view, are our pudding-headed sides.
Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington – Understanding Political Doublespeak through Philosophy and Jokes (2008)
But in the 1870s, weirdness was in the air.
Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates – Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterl (2009)
Lost in discussions of séances is any consideration for the dead respondents. Why do they have to appear on demand? Might they not have busy schedules too? Aren’t they at least entitled to caller ID?
Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates – Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterl (2009)
In theology, schisms have opened over such pressing issues as, “Does the Spirit proceed from the Father or from the Father and the Son?” The layperson clearly needs a simple guide to theological differences and, thank God, the comedians are always willing to oblige.
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar – Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes (2007)
Many of these fallacies, formal and informal, were identified by Aristotle nearly twenty-five hundred years ago. Has that stopped politicians from using them? On the contrary, they’ve treated them as formal and informal strategies!
Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington – Understanding Political Doublespeak through Philosophy and Jokes (2008)
Another way to differentiate denominations is according to what behavior qualifies someone for a divine dressing-down. For Catholics, it’s missing Mass. For Baptists, it’s dancing. For Episcopalians, it’s eating your salad with your dessert fork.
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar – Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes (2007)
Any political commentator worthy of having his own program on Fox News knows that when it comes to hiding the truth, burial is a nifty option. Why risk a blatant, in-your-face fib when a questionable assumption buried in a seemingly logical argument might slip right by the listener?
Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington – Understanding Political Doublespeak through Philosophy and Jokes (2008)
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.
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar – Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes (2007)