Heidegger and a Hippo Walk through Those Pearly Gates

July 6, 2009
Did you know that Heidegger's notion of living in the shadow of death has its most profound articulation in a country and western song by Tim McGraw? Or what Law and Order
has in common with theologian Paul Tillich's view of eternity? Such are the nuggets of wisdom found in this smart and lighthearted consideration of the philosophical dimensions of death. Cathcart and Klein (coauthors of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar
) take readers on a whirlwind tour of anthropological, philosophical and theological theories of why and how we avoid accepting our own mortality. The authors demonstrate how humor allows us to express our fears about death “while defusing anxiety.” Succinct accounts of Kierkegaard's notion of embracing angst, Schopenhauer's notion of undying will and Descartes on mind-body dualism are thus all peppered by comic asides (Leibnitz “maintained that Mind and Matter don't actually get into each others knickers”). This little book is an entertaining and surprisingly informative survey of the “Big D” and its centrality in human life. (Oct).

Who says philosophy can't be funny? Pretty much everyone. But don't tell Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein because they've made amusing, informative audiobooks that examine the big questions in life their little specialty. HEIDEGGER is a clever work dealing with those age-old mysteries: death and the afterlife. The guys perform the book themselves, and author narrations are always chancy. In this case, it's a sure bet. The authors have a rapport that endears them to the listener. They often sound like a couple of Dutch uncles recounting old jokes and stories. But there's a point to their stories, advice among the gags and examples that we can live by. This is also a book that works as a series of separate stories you'll enjoy telling around the water cooler. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine