Philosophy and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

by Nicholas Joll (Editor)

This is the "philosophy and. ." book that really needed to be written – because it is about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. For (to paraphrase the great man himself) Hitchhiker's is not above a little philosophy in the same way that the sea is not above the sky. Moreover: this edited collection combines accessibility – and some humor – with rigor. It contains an introduction, nine chapters, a glossary, and multiple indexes. Topics covered include the meaning of life (and "42"), vegetarianism, the ethics of entertainment, artificial intelligence, multiple worlds, God, and philosophical method.

Genres: Philosophy, Fiction

308 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 2012

About the author

Nicholas Joll was born in, and grew up in, Hertfordshire. He has spent a lot of time studying philosophy, and quite a lot of time teaching it. He likes to think that he has other interests too, though - and one of those is reading non-philosophy. He combined these two interests by editing the book *Philosophy and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.* Other interests include cooking, pubbing, music and occasionally venturing to other countries.

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea of the book more than the execution. Some of the authors did a pretty good job of being both informative and interesting, but others seemed to be dry philosophical discussions with occasional opportunistic Adams references.

I've only recently been getting into philosophy. This book wasn't as good a bridge as I'd hoped.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a ‘pop philosophy’ book looking at all the ways the Hitchhikers Universe works or how often the number 42 pops up in scientific discoveries (although those books do exist) and you are warned of this in the introduction.

This book takes some of the issues raised by Douglas Adams and takes a serious look at the ethics, morality and logic of those situations in the real world. As a result, it is quite heavy going but well worth the effort.

The contributors are proper philosophers and, even if they’re not avid fans, certainly know their source material and quote the relevant passages as appropriate to the point being made.

Pretty much essential reading for anyone that carries a towel every May 25th, but anyone interested in philosophy might even find this an ideal starting point.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

MAJIKTHISE: We are philosophers.
VROOMFONDEL: Though we may not be.
I wouldn't call myself a philosophy buff, but I am a sci fi fan and there's a lot of overlap-- both pose the "what if" questions and make you think. Hitchhiker's is my favourite thing ever, and I can't believe it took me this long to read this, probably the last piece of media even remotely Hitchhiker related that I hadn't yet devoured.
Though I enjoyed digging deeper into Adam's universe, I didn't come out of the experience feeling like I learned anything (about h2g2, about philosophy, or about life in general). I appreciated the humour interspersed throughout. My only real complaint with this book is that many of the essays have far too large "this is what I'm going to tell you" sections. Too much outlining compared to the amount of substance in each section.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems like more than half of these essays were pre-written and then then shoe-horned into the collection, which seems like a wasted opportunity. Of the essays that deal meaningfully with THGTTG as a philosophical text, they are all lovely, fascinating and instructional. Amy Kind's essay on absurdity and existentialism especially, and Michèle Friend does an admirable job of teaching logical formulation through the lense of a silly joke about babelfish.

[Gerardo Suarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty nice overview of some of the philosophical highlights if the hitchhiker's guide

Chapter's 3 and 8 were my favorite

Every chapter is independent and just talks about an specific philosophical topic and how it was potrayed in the guide

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting dive into philosophy from the perspective of one of my favourite works of literature. I highly enjoyed this book!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave me a nosebleed and made my head spin, which made a mess of the walls.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We are philosophers."

"Though we may not be."

With these lines, Douglas Adams effortlessly both sums and sends up the business of philosophy. No wonder editor Nicholas Joll was inspired to base a book of philosophical essays around his work.

This is a serious attempt to examine both philosophy in a Hitch Hiker's context and Hitch Hiker's in a philosophical one. There are nine essays in total, divided between four sections: 'Ethics', 'The Meaning of Life', 'Metaphysics and Artificial Intelligence', and 'Logic, Method and Satire'. My personal favourites were the chapter on the ethics of eating animals that want to be eaten, and that on the artificial intelligence of Marvin.

For an imprint of Macmillan (there's a Trillian joke in there somewhere), the printing and proofreading were a little poor. It should also be made clear that this isn't a Christmas novelty book; you won't need a brain the size of a planet, but the content does require concentration.

[Ginger Heskett]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14338736