What do you think?
Rate this book
How to Outwit Aristotle: And 34 Other Really Interesting Uses of Philosophy
Philosophy might make you think of dusty statues in togas or Zen masters meditating, but the philosophical world has far more to offer than ancient men in it can also tell you everything there is to know about life, love anddeath. In a series of highly original, entertaining and often extraordinary scenarios, How to Think Like a Bat brings to life 35 key philosophy concepts in a way that anyone can understand. From the realm of the unconscious to the principles of logic, the 35 bite-sized chapters in this book will not only help you understand our world, how we find meaning in life, and how we think of right and wrong, they'll help you win arguments, learn the art of seduction, and even get one up on Aristotle. Easy to follow and impossible to put down, this book will not only help you to think like a bat - it will have you thinking like a philosopher.
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2012
22 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Peter Cave
59 books23 followersPeter Cave lectures in philosophy for The Open University and New York University (London). He frequently contributes to philosophy magazines and journals, lectures around the world, and has scripted and presented philosophy programmes for the BBC. He is the author of eight books on philosophy, including Humanism: A Beginner’s Guide and the bestselling Can a Robot be Human?: 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 10, 2018
This book is a good insight into philosophy. Each of the 35 chapters tackles a philosophical idea and introduces the reader to the underlying arguments of each concept with some back and forth on each topic.
Positives.
I liked that the author never over simplifies each argument to a point of being child like. The reader has to be wanting to use some, if not textbook level, mental muscle to get through this book. Add to this I was aware that I had to go back a couple of paragraphs or pages if I felt I wasn't fully understanding what being said and the book's layout allowed me to do this without extensive scanning or having to go through walls of text page after page.
Overall the book is worth a read if you are looking for an introduction to philosophy and are starting from a low level understanding which. based on its approach is completely what the author was/ is aiming for. The reader has to be serious as this book does require thought and contemplation in areas and is not a book that can, nor should be, speed read through. I would say that this book has whet my appetite to read more philosophy material and I will re-read some of the chapter again in the future to both clarify my understanding and for reference for future reading.
Negative.
This is petty but I can understand that for non-British readers some of the references may seem a little odd. I am British and I could fully understand some of the jokes not landing. I accept this is petty and in writing this I am being a typical petty British person.
Positives.
I liked that the author never over simplifies each argument to a point of being child like. The reader has to be wanting to use some, if not textbook level, mental muscle to get through this book. Add to this I was aware that I had to go back a couple of paragraphs or pages if I felt I wasn't fully understanding what being said and the book's layout allowed me to do this without extensive scanning or having to go through walls of text page after page.
Overall the book is worth a read if you are looking for an introduction to philosophy and are starting from a low level understanding which. based on its approach is completely what the author was/ is aiming for. The reader has to be serious as this book does require thought and contemplation in areas and is not a book that can, nor should be, speed read through. I would say that this book has whet my appetite to read more philosophy material and I will re-read some of the chapter again in the future to both clarify my understanding and for reference for future reading.
Negative.
This is petty but I can understand that for non-British readers some of the references may seem a little odd. I am British and I could fully understand some of the jokes not landing. I accept this is petty and in writing this I am being a typical petty British person.
January 4, 2025
This book was a really informative introduction to various philosophical ideas, most of the content is really thought provoking and helped me form opinions on many moral dilemmas.
There were several moments when I had to re-read chapters to grasp what was going on. That being said I appreciate that the author didn’t dumb anything down too much, it forced me to get a deeper understanding. (Which I really enjoyed).
Overall it’s a great stating point for anyone curious about philosophy, only of you’re willing to google references every 5 seconds.(in a good way)
There were several moments when I had to re-read chapters to grasp what was going on. That being said I appreciate that the author didn’t dumb anything down too much, it forced me to get a deeper understanding. (Which I really enjoyed).
Overall it’s a great stating point for anyone curious about philosophy, only of you’re willing to google references every 5 seconds.(in a good way)
May 5, 2022
Cave occasional touches on dinner really interesting concepts, but he tends to meander around the points.
More often than not, the analogies he uses are truly tortured, making whatever points he's trying to make more obscure rather than clearer.
More often than not, the analogies he uses are truly tortured, making whatever points he's trying to make more obscure rather than clearer.
July 11, 2020
Don't know exactly what I was trying to get out of this one, it either addressed topics I don't care about or it gave me intros to concepts I was already familiar with.
October 15, 2020
this book is great to get someone in to philosophy.Its a entertaining book
February 4, 2022
Nothing revolutionary. Perhaps a worthwhile read for someone who is beginning with the philosophy basics.
March 3, 2022
A good, but not mind blowing, book on various topics in philosophy. He keeps it entertaining enough and doesn't dumb the material down. Worth reading if you are interested in logical thinking.
January 31, 2016
This was an impressive and very thought-provoking book, exploring a number of the most important and challenging questions within the field of philosophy. It was well-pitched at the level of the intelligent interested reader - chapters were long enough to properly explore an area, but short enough to not get too 'bogged down' in a particular question.
The only reason I give this three stars is that I couldn't easily find a way to consume it. The chapters were too long and required too deep thought to read on the loo, and were too thought-provoking and requiring a clear mind to read before bed time. It was too heavy a subject to sit and read from cover to cover. Nevertheless, it is a book I will come back to again and again.
The only reason I give this three stars is that I couldn't easily find a way to consume it. The chapters were too long and required too deep thought to read on the loo, and were too thought-provoking and requiring a clear mind to read before bed time. It was too heavy a subject to sit and read from cover to cover. Nevertheless, it is a book I will come back to again and again.
February 22, 2016
This book had so much potential, but unfortunately it was so poorly written with Peter Cave making so many jokes that only he might find funny, that the opportunity to write a great book as part of an amazing serries was lost.
The writing was jumbled, the analogies were bad, and where depth was desirable he went off on an irrelevant tanget. I'm really not sure why I struggled through to the end...I just can't quit on books I'm not enjoying, in the hope that they get better. Surely, I think, there was something good about them that the publisher recognised before taking it to print?
The only good thing about this book is it's title. Stop reading there and go pick up another pop philosophy book instead. This one is not worth your time.
The writing was jumbled, the analogies were bad, and where depth was desirable he went off on an irrelevant tanget. I'm really not sure why I struggled through to the end...I just can't quit on books I'm not enjoying, in the hope that they get better. Surely, I think, there was something good about them that the publisher recognised before taking it to print?
The only good thing about this book is it's title. Stop reading there and go pick up another pop philosophy book instead. This one is not worth your time.
February 5, 2014
Some was enlightening - and I liked some of the humour... but it didn't really float my boat! A proper textbook on philosophy would satisfy me better I reckon!
November 22, 2013
Excellent, witty explanation of philosophical concepts. Easy to follow but does require a lot of concentration.
October 26, 2014
A good introduction to philosophy.
Will revisit someday!
Will revisit someday!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews