Wednesday 17 September 2008

Philosophical Book Round-Up

Some of you may have guessed from previous posts that I have a background in Philosophy. I believe that we can learn a lot from the deepest thinkers of the last few thousand years, and that current philosophical thought is advancing the knowledge and experience of the human race as much as anything else. I have recently been delving my nose into some of the latest books of philosophical thought written by the most eminent minds of our generation, with no fear of even the longest, most complicated words and sentences. Much of what I read was thought provoking, erudite and quite, quite brilliant, though some of the arguments and logical reasoning on display showed some room for improvement. Here are my findings.

On the Epistemological Qualities of Hegellian Dialectical Thought in the Twentieth Century by Professor Rutger Blenschneitz is a rubbish book because it has a brown cover. Brown covers are rubbish. I hate brown. Plus this book smells like asparagus. Professor Blenschneitz is a terrible writer because he has a silly name.

I enjoyed Cognitive Ethology and Quantum Philosophy: A Radical Comparative Approach by Sir Thomas Miller. This was because the book had some pictures of dogs in it. Dogs are great, aren’t they? They run around loads and they bite my sister. And then when they get wet they shake themselves dry and the wetness goes all over everywhere and everyone gets wet and starts crying. A wonderful book by a preeminent thinker.

Further Investigations into the Inter-Totality of Essence by Gottfried van Dyke went like this: “Dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur symbolism.” And then it went like this: “Wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah meaning.” And then it went like this: “Dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur dur I smell, signed Gottfried van Poop.”

Professor Jayne Maddox is my favourite philosopher ever. I’ve got all her books, even the really rare ones that nobody else has. Her latest masterpiece, Godel’s Proof of the Incompleteness of Formal Systems and its Implications on the Progress of Science, is amazing, because it has a picture of her on the back cover. I can move the book around and her eyes follow me around. It’s like we’re dancing, Jayne Maddox and I. We’re dancing! Together! And in love!

This is the best book ever.

Finally, The Philosophy of Hannah Montana is an excellent introduction to the world of philosophical thought as told through the popular Disney Channel series. Existentialism, Leibniz’s Monadology, Plato’s Republic, Hume’s problem of induction and Descartes’ famed Cogito argument are all brilliantly explained in terms of Miley Cyrus and chums. Particularly strong is the section on the Philosophy of Language, with special mention being given to Tarski’s T-Scheme, metalanguages and the implication of the existence of paradoxes on formalised language. My only problems with this book are that it doesn’t have any pictures of dogs in it, and Professor Jayne Maddox isn’t on the cover.

10 comments:

Dr Zibbs said...

I just realized your blog wasn't on my new google reader list. IT's on there now.

BeckEye said...

i just pickeeeed up da phillosofee of hanah montanah the other day and omg its totally changed ma lifeeee!!!1! lolz :)

Mo said...

"Dogs are great, aren’t they? They run around loads..."

Heheheheheh. I don't know why this phrase made me laugh to the point of nearly crapping my pants. Hilarious. Your post, not the close call in my drawers.

Falwless said...

This was fucking funny.

This is a good week to be a reader of TIR.

The Imaginary Reviewer said...

Dr Zibbs: Many thanks! I don't have a reader list, I'm debating whether or not I get one.

Beckeye: You do that worryingly well.

Mo: Hmm, maybe I should include a warning at the top of the page. I should recommend that all of my readers refrain from wearing pants. (I rarely wear them myself when writing the reviews, so it stands to reason, really).

Falwless: Many thanks! And there's still part 2 of Choose Your Own Imaginary Review to come tomorrow! You lucky lucky people!

Chris said...

There are no pictures of dogs in this post....but at least it isn't brown.

Clippy Mat said...

wah wah wah dur dur dur. excellent review and reminiscent of similar tomes wot i have read (the inside cover of)
brill as always.

Distributorcap said...

this seems so existential to me

i must go read Endgame

The Imaginary Reviewer said...

Chris: I couldn't find any decent pictures of dogs biting my sister, but I shall endeavour to include more photographs of canines in future.

Clippy Mat: Many thanks. You are obviously a philosopher yourself, are you not?

DistributorCap: I'm not normally this intelligent, it's a rare thing.

katrocket said...

So where's OUR photo of Jayne Maddox? Shame on you, keeping her to yourself like that.