I Think, Therefore I Laugh: The Flip Side of Philosophy

by JohnAllenPaulos (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2000

  $3.29

  Inspired by Wittgenstein's quip that a book on philosophy might consist entirely of jokes I Think, Therefore I Laugh explores topics such as misunderstandings of mathematics and science and of the relation between them, pseudo-science and its appeal, the uses and misuses of probability and statistics, humour and higher order endeavours and the interplay between narrative and numbers. This is a new edition of John Allen Paulos' second of six books and fans will recognise themes he later went on to pursue in other words.

• Used

  Paperback
  2001

  $3.44

  Wittgenstein once remarked that 'a serious and good philosophical work could be written that consisted entirely of jokes'. Inspired by this idea, John Allen Paulos shows how conceptual humour and analytic philosophy resonate at a very deep level. Both evince a keen concern for language and its (mis)interpretations; both require a free intelligence in a relatively open society, as well as a sceptical tendency towards debunking; and both are quintessentially human. I Think, Therefore I Laugh is packed with jokes, stories, parables, puzzles and anecdotes, all of which relate in one way or another to various philosophical problems, leading to some unexpected insights.