Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates

Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife and Everything in Between

By Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

Given to me by Conrad Simonds (today)

Inspired by an NPR book review

Memento mori. "Remember you are mortal!"

This is a great, fun exploration of the meaning of life, why we are here, why we contemplate suicide and all the philosophical struggles of human existence. Fun! It is dedicated to Woody Allen and they take that dedication seriously.

Despite the great jokes and comic strips (I will break down some of my favorites in the quotes section) it is a great simplified exploration of human existence and how we have struggled on a mental plane to understand our meaning, life after death, spirituality and the like through the western (primarily) history of philosophical exploration.

Great, easy, thought provoking read:

Comic strip of a man on his death bed with the caption: "I should have bought more crap."

Reminded me of my grandpa:
"Ole and Lena - "Ole dies and Lena calls the obituary section of the paper and says she wants to put an obituary for Ole. The newspaper man asks what she wants to say. She said, 'Ole died.' He reminds her, 'You were married for fifty five years and they had four kids and fifteen grandkids. Are you sure that is all you want to say? The first five words are free!' She responds, 'Ole died. Boat for sale.'"

"But our favorite version of a Heaven that reflects the spirit of its religious tradition is the Norse mythology surrounding Valhalla, the palace of slain warriors, where the roof is made of gold shields. The departed warriors feast every day on the flesh of a wild boar and drink liquor from the teat of a goat. Their principal pastime is clobbering each other. King of like celestial Ultimate Fighting." Pg 132

How could I pass up a quote with Norse myths and Ultimate Fighting? I am a big fan . . .