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PhiLOLZophy Critical Thinking in Digestible Doses
A popular question in philosophy is "How do I know I exist?" That seems really boring though. How about, "How can I use logic to get over my ex?" If you really love wisdom, you love it in all situations you don't need to be spoonfed unsolved problems in philosophy, because you're already analyzing the US Weekly you re reading or your kinda significant other. Sarah Heuer and Chrissy Stockton are writers living in Minneapolis who are determined to do something more interesting with their philosophy degrees than talk about dead white guys. Critical Thinking in Digestible Doses helps its readers think critically about vodka, religion and sex proving that brains do have more fun.
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 14, 2012
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86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
June 13, 2014
That was amazing. It was really, really, really bad. It's hard to believe such a bad book could even be written.
I will try to write more mean things this weekend. Oh yes.
----------------------
I wish I had a hard copy of this, so I could look through and pull out some of the amazing quotes that had my jaw dropping. I was able to pull up a couple pages on Amazon, and the first line goes like this:
"Once upon a time a dude named Socrates proved he was the smartest dude in Athens (basically the New York of 3000 years ago, for reference) simply by disagreeing with everyone and thereby birthing the "annoying philosophy bro" stereotype."
Oh good, my preview goes on. Rereading this with real words on a page makes my mind even more boggled that someone actually wrote this, and then someone else read it and still thought it was a good idea to publish.
"The funny thing about philosophy is that it attracts smart, analytical people, but unfortunately most people who are even remotely into it have no imagination or sense of humor whatsoever. It's like the second you check into a philosophy course you're supposed to check out of reality."
My partner, the philosophy major, listened to this first part of the audio book with me (because I made him while we were driving to dinner). He glared at me as I was driving down the road, cackling like a madwoman.
"Philosophy can help you have sex with someone if they are a dumb hipster who is impressed by sound bites about nihilism."
By the end of the audiobook, I was pretty convinced that I had just been Punkd. No one would actually believe in their own drivel, if this is the drivel they're spouting...right?
Personal issues aren't that bad because they can probably net you PILLZ!
It has nothing to do with critical thinking, and what IS there, is not what I would call digestible.
My favorite part was how she went off about how philosophy convinced her she shouldn't be...Evangelical? anymore. Not positive about what religion it was. So she went through an atheism thing at a college in the Midwest, which, sure, people can probably relate to that. And then, I don't know, "figured it out", and became a Catholic, because THAT makes sense.
My "Christianity Wins Again" shelf has never been so pertinent.
I will try to write more mean things this weekend. Oh yes.
----------------------
I wish I had a hard copy of this, so I could look through and pull out some of the amazing quotes that had my jaw dropping. I was able to pull up a couple pages on Amazon, and the first line goes like this:
"Once upon a time a dude named Socrates proved he was the smartest dude in Athens (basically the New York of 3000 years ago, for reference) simply by disagreeing with everyone and thereby birthing the "annoying philosophy bro" stereotype."
Oh good, my preview goes on. Rereading this with real words on a page makes my mind even more boggled that someone actually wrote this, and then someone else read it and still thought it was a good idea to publish.
"The funny thing about philosophy is that it attracts smart, analytical people, but unfortunately most people who are even remotely into it have no imagination or sense of humor whatsoever. It's like the second you check into a philosophy course you're supposed to check out of reality."
My partner, the philosophy major, listened to this first part of the audio book with me (because I made him while we were driving to dinner). He glared at me as I was driving down the road, cackling like a madwoman.
"Philosophy can help you have sex with someone if they are a dumb hipster who is impressed by sound bites about nihilism."
By the end of the audiobook, I was pretty convinced that I had just been Punkd. No one would actually believe in their own drivel, if this is the drivel they're spouting...right?
Personal issues aren't that bad because they can probably net you PILLZ!
It has nothing to do with critical thinking, and what IS there, is not what I would call digestible.
My favorite part was how she went off about how philosophy convinced her she shouldn't be...Evangelical? anymore. Not positive about what religion it was. So she went through an atheism thing at a college in the Midwest, which, sure, people can probably relate to that. And then, I don't know, "figured it out", and became a Catholic, because THAT makes sense.
My "Christianity Wins Again" shelf has never been so pertinent.
February 26, 2014
This book is bad, it should feel bad, and if I hadn't gotten for free, I'd honestly ask for a refund. I still should, one of the other free offers has to have been better than this.
Despite the authors touting feminist as the thing everyone should be (the only point to which I agree) this book is full of misogynistic stereotypes about women, ableist language regarding "crazy" women, and a host of other problems (including but not limited to an author story about "hooking up" with a guy while she was blacked out (the point at which I noped out of this book)).
It's a two and a half hour audio book, and I had to shut it off after a little more than an hour, it's that bad.
Despite the authors touting feminist as the thing everyone should be (the only point to which I agree) this book is full of misogynistic stereotypes about women, ableist language regarding "crazy" women, and a host of other problems (including but not limited to an author story about "hooking up" with a guy while she was blacked out (the point at which I noped out of this book)).
It's a two and a half hour audio book, and I had to shut it off after a little more than an hour, it's that bad.
Read
June 6, 2017Jeez, this was ATROCIOUS! Probably the worst pretentious crap I have read in years.
First of all: The author's pseudo-informal writing is obnoxious and just plain embarrassing in its attempt to be super-edgy. Want to get a taste:
"Once upon a time a dude named Socrates proved he was the smartest dude in Athens (basically the New York of 3,000 years ago, for reference) simply by disagreeing with everyone and thereby birthing the "annoying philosophy bro" stereotype."
Yes, it really is that bad.
And even if it wasn't for the author's inability of stringing a decent sentence together without embarrassing herself, the book would still be an utter failure in every department. Stockton fails to make ANY point at all, instead is all over the place with her ramblings, contradicting herself in every second sentence while still being immensely full of her bloated self.
This is neither funny nor informative.You will gain nothing from this book apart from losing more than two hours of your life which you will never get back. Avoid at all cost.
First of all: The author's pseudo-informal writing is obnoxious and just plain embarrassing in its attempt to be super-edgy. Want to get a taste:
"Once upon a time a dude named Socrates proved he was the smartest dude in Athens (basically the New York of 3,000 years ago, for reference) simply by disagreeing with everyone and thereby birthing the "annoying philosophy bro" stereotype."
Yes, it really is that bad.
And even if it wasn't for the author's inability of stringing a decent sentence together without embarrassing herself, the book would still be an utter failure in every department. Stockton fails to make ANY point at all, instead is all over the place with her ramblings, contradicting herself in every second sentence while still being immensely full of her bloated self.
This is neither funny nor informative.You will gain nothing from this book apart from losing more than two hours of your life which you will never get back. Avoid at all cost.
December 25, 2018
I went into this thinking I would get an abbreviated version of intro into philosophy. I f you did the same please be aware that this feels more like a diary and the author is telling us his idea of life through one of her major interests: philosophy. The beginning was a little rough, but the rest was good. Like when a memoir or a self-help book introduces examples from life, or books etc. This just happens to be philosophy. Personally I find the writing okay and I feel like I'm listening to a friend, the kind that over-analyzes, talk. Basically you will like this book if you take it with a grain of salt and if you like this author's voice.
March 24, 2014
Got this as an audiobook freebie and while it turned into something I wasn't expecting at the start, I enjoyed its honest confrontations a lot. Definitely has a female perspective (how refreshing!) but it is something men ought to read if they are interested in what really goes on in the minds of smart women.
I felt maybe it was unnecessarily harsh on religion and separatist, as if thinking philosophy and religion cannot co-exist. But I was easily able to look beyond that in order to get the good stuff out of this text..
I felt maybe it was unnecessarily harsh on religion and separatist, as if thinking philosophy and religion cannot co-exist. But I was easily able to look beyond that in order to get the good stuff out of this text..
April 11, 2014
Only marginally less offensive than Audible's other freebie from last month-- "The Nerd's Guide to Being Confident." I personally think the woman who wrote this and the man who wrote the "Nerd's Guide" should get together, have lots of snarky, foul-mouthed, cynical children, and spend the rest of their days congratulating each other on being the smartest people in the room. Just please don't blog about it.
September 24, 2013
I give this 2.5 stars, because half of it is clever and insightful and the other is just sad. I loved the introduction, it was full of oh-so-delicious lines like “if you are an intelligent person you don’t need to be spoon-fed topics to think critically about” and “The word 'philosophy' literally means the love of wisdom. Not the love of pretension or five syllable words or writing things for the modern bourgeoisie,” and “the dialectical tension between high and low brow.” There should be some kind of movement for this, if there isn't already. And if there is, these ladies should be hired to write its official manifesto. And then about half the book (booklet? It's really short) goes on to be just what they advertised. But then the other half is kind of pathetic because it has:
1. Sloppy logic. For example, using Ockham's Razor (“simplest explanation is always the best one”) to decide whether to break up with your boyfriend. Since when does “simplest explanation is best” = “simplest action is best”? Yes, dump your bad boyfriend by all means, but what does it have to do with poor Ockham?
So at this point I'm thinking, “I get it, they're trying to be funny! LOLZ!” But then we get to:
2. Whining. For example, there's an essay called “How it Feels to End a Relationship.” And that would be: “getting kicked in the stomach,” “being drowned,” “life is a waste,” “going to vomit.” Really? Did they arrive at this using their brilliant critical thinking skills? Also, boring and not funny. And finally:
3. Psychobabble. For example, the essay called “The Different Types of Unhealthy Relationships,” which looks like they got it from an article on EHarmony or something. Wow, I had no idea that relationships “without reciprocity” were bad, thanks Captain Obvious!
On the other hand, the following sections were awesome:
“Philosophical Questions to Consider While Waiting for Your Pizza to be Delivered”
“Logical Fallacies to Avoid in Your Love Life”
“On Nothing Happened Between Us”
Anyway, it was short, sweet and cheap, so totally worth it.
1. Sloppy logic. For example, using Ockham's Razor (“simplest explanation is always the best one”) to decide whether to break up with your boyfriend. Since when does “simplest explanation is best” = “simplest action is best”? Yes, dump your bad boyfriend by all means, but what does it have to do with poor Ockham?
So at this point I'm thinking, “I get it, they're trying to be funny! LOLZ!” But then we get to:
2. Whining. For example, there's an essay called “How it Feels to End a Relationship.” And that would be: “getting kicked in the stomach,” “being drowned,” “life is a waste,” “going to vomit.” Really? Did they arrive at this using their brilliant critical thinking skills? Also, boring and not funny. And finally:
3. Psychobabble. For example, the essay called “The Different Types of Unhealthy Relationships,” which looks like they got it from an article on EHarmony or something. Wow, I had no idea that relationships “without reciprocity” were bad, thanks Captain Obvious!
On the other hand, the following sections were awesome:
“Philosophical Questions to Consider While Waiting for Your Pizza to be Delivered”
“Logical Fallacies to Avoid in Your Love Life”
“On Nothing Happened Between Us”
Anyway, it was short, sweet and cheap, so totally worth it.
February 28, 2014
This was a disappointment almost from the beginning, but I kept listening and hoping that it would get better. It never did.
A note for the author: swearing should be used sparingly and for specific effect when writing. In your work you seem to think that it will make you appear to be hip and edgy. Quite frankly, my everyday language is peppered with more swearing than I should probably use, and even I found your use of it to be inappropriate and annoying.
Overall, I really found the entire work to be insulting and obnoxious rather than amusing. I suspect that they were going for wry and dry, but really they only achieved rude and crude. The author managed to insult nearly everyone, and not in the amusing Mel Brooks movie kind of way. I am not a Christian, and due to being a non-Christian who lives in the Bible Belt I have little patience with people who wave the Bible in my face all of the time, but even I felt that the author went too far in their blatant abuse of those who believe in the tenets of Christianity. I also strongly resented the author's blanket statements regarding the personality types of various other groups, some of whom I belong to and some I do not. That kind of specious stereotyping has no place in any kind of work that expects to be taken seriously in the professional writing world.
All in all this was a great disappointment. Even though it was a free download, it wasn't worth the money. I strongly recommend that if you are considering getting this audiobook, you skip it and look for something else.
A note for the author: swearing should be used sparingly and for specific effect when writing. In your work you seem to think that it will make you appear to be hip and edgy. Quite frankly, my everyday language is peppered with more swearing than I should probably use, and even I found your use of it to be inappropriate and annoying.
Overall, I really found the entire work to be insulting and obnoxious rather than amusing. I suspect that they were going for wry and dry, but really they only achieved rude and crude. The author managed to insult nearly everyone, and not in the amusing Mel Brooks movie kind of way. I am not a Christian, and due to being a non-Christian who lives in the Bible Belt I have little patience with people who wave the Bible in my face all of the time, but even I felt that the author went too far in their blatant abuse of those who believe in the tenets of Christianity. I also strongly resented the author's blanket statements regarding the personality types of various other groups, some of whom I belong to and some I do not. That kind of specious stereotyping has no place in any kind of work that expects to be taken seriously in the professional writing world.
All in all this was a great disappointment. Even though it was a free download, it wasn't worth the money. I strongly recommend that if you are considering getting this audiobook, you skip it and look for something else.
April 3, 2014
This continued Audible's series of terrible free audiobooks. When I started this up, after having listened to a terrible book on self-confidence by a pick up artist, I was excited that at least this was written by women, so it should have a different perspective. I was sorely disappointed by that expectation. This was equally foul-mouthed and vapid as the previous one. What made it worse was that it claimed to be about philosophy and critical thinking. I minored in philosophy, and have a genuine interest in it. This... was not that. The author clearly has learned about philosophy, and name-checked some things I knew, and others that I didn't, but spent the majority of the book telling you how useless philosophy was (as if society in general didn't do that enough), and doing so with a horrendous writing style. In reality, the philosophy was simply a framework that the author referred to occasionally during her diatribe about dating. I wanted to stop listening pretty much from the start, but I am stubborn and heard it out in its entirety. I needn't have bothered, becuase there wasn't anything here worth my time.
March 21, 2014
Genre: Nonfiction, essay on dating, i guess...
The piece started out well, purporting to be applying philosophy and logic to the problems of everyday life (which mostly turned out to be dating, given the everyday life in question is that of a late-twenties single woman). But after the first 10 minutes or so it utterly fails to do this. In the first 10 minutes it manages to be funny about nihilism and modern life... but then it's just an angsty dating scree. Granted, I am not its target audience, and possibly I'd find it funnier if I had a more complete background in philosophy (my one Intro to Philosophy class in collage was both a LONG time ago and not in-depth enough to allow me to notice all the jokes, or possibly they weren't really there.) I probably wouldn't have found it nearly as annoying as I did, if it hadn't purported to be much more. As it was, it was everything that could set your teeth on edge about the Bridget Jones's Diary series without capturing its charm.
The piece started out well, purporting to be applying philosophy and logic to the problems of everyday life (which mostly turned out to be dating, given the everyday life in question is that of a late-twenties single woman). But after the first 10 minutes or so it utterly fails to do this. In the first 10 minutes it manages to be funny about nihilism and modern life... but then it's just an angsty dating scree. Granted, I am not its target audience, and possibly I'd find it funnier if I had a more complete background in philosophy (my one Intro to Philosophy class in collage was both a LONG time ago and not in-depth enough to allow me to notice all the jokes, or possibly they weren't really there.) I probably wouldn't have found it nearly as annoying as I did, if it hadn't purported to be much more. As it was, it was everything that could set your teeth on edge about the Bridget Jones's Diary series without capturing its charm.
March 17, 2016
3.5 stars
I got this as one of the Audible free Valentine's deals, where it was marketed as "Share with the friend who over-analyzes EVERYTHING". It's a pretty accurate description. This book isn't so much about philosophy as it is a memoir of what it means to be a single woman in your late 20s today... and using introduction to philosophy knowledge to analyze this status. I've dealt with situations similar to those the authors analyze, and much of it rang true (I think many of the negative reviews are from those who just can't relate to the situations). The one big turn off was the description of what I would call a sexual assault, where the author overanalyzes how it "may have been her fault". While I know many victims have these feelings, I don't think it was helpful to discuss it without coming full circle to a discussion of assault not being the victim's fault.
I got this as one of the Audible free Valentine's deals, where it was marketed as "Share with the friend who over-analyzes EVERYTHING". It's a pretty accurate description. This book isn't so much about philosophy as it is a memoir of what it means to be a single woman in your late 20s today... and using introduction to philosophy knowledge to analyze this status. I've dealt with situations similar to those the authors analyze, and much of it rang true (I think many of the negative reviews are from those who just can't relate to the situations). The one big turn off was the description of what I would call a sexual assault, where the author overanalyzes how it "may have been her fault". While I know many victims have these feelings, I don't think it was helpful to discuss it without coming full circle to a discussion of assault not being the victim's fault.
February 25, 2014
i don't know how this book became a relationship advice slash personal journal of the author. i love a good memoir but i don't think this follows the premise. overall the general tone is very heteronormative and simplistic. i think this perspective is part of the point and some of it is funny and insightful. i enjoyed that there was so much talk of feminism but yet there is a chapter about what it means to be a slut..ummm....so I don't appreciate the definitive statements as if i am being told an absolute truth. The authors outline their privilege in an almost disturbing way. The chapter about about an attempted rape in which the author is questioning her culpability is a little terrifying. i mean the concept of using philosophy to question everything should not be a space where you question your rights as a human being.
March 16, 2014
Very disappointing. It started out strong and interesting, but shortly in it started to tank... I found the discussion of philosophy interesting and the profanity novel at first, but eventually couldn't wait for the book to end. About 1/3 in the author switched from philosophy to sharing their personal depression narrative... If their world-view helps them cope with life, that's great, but they made it sound more like the ramblings of a very depressed person. Being a critical thinker doesn't mean you avoid optimism, as this author implies. She has walked right into the negativity bias with open arms and attempts to bring everyone else with her. The last half of the book seemed to have little true purpose and involved the author musing about her personal life, religion, and relationships rather than sharing any objective insight or knowledge with the reader.
February 22, 2014
I wish I had read other reviews before buying this on an Audible daily deal. I am certainly not the target audience for this book. As a writing instructor, I feel that the use of foul language for just about any reason shows a disregard for the sensitivities of others and demonstrates the speaker or writer's limited vocabulary. I am a 40 something and this book was written for twenty somethings. I hope that it might have some redeeming qualities for that audience. If you are over 30 and considered mature, then I think there might be better ways to spend your time than listening to this book.
If you don't mind gratuitous cursing and crude jokes, you might find a few laughs here and just a tiny bit of "wisdom" you might be able to use.
If you don't mind gratuitous cursing and crude jokes, you might find a few laughs here and just a tiny bit of "wisdom" you might be able to use.
June 10, 2015
I will be extremely sincere here... I HATED philosophy in secondary school. Hated it with the heat of a thousand suns. And it hated me back. I saw this book on Audible, though, and I was attracted by the punny title (I loooove puns) and the pretty pretty cover (I'm not shallow at all!). I am so happy I went beyond my hate for philosophy and listened to it! Points for punny titles! Chrissy Stockton and Sarah Heuer are fun and sarcastic, and a bit silly. I loved especially the part about dating. It was hilarious. So yes, I enjoyed this book. It didn't change my life, and like hell I'm reading other philosophy books, but I would recommend it. Theresa McCarthy's voice in the audiobook is awesome.
October 27, 2015
It was unexpectedly entertaining, this one. There was very little philosophy in this book, and more about the state of mind in various stages of growing up, how to recognize the said state of mind and how to handle it properly without skidding off the cliff of life and ending up in the chasm of mental oblivion (I'm practicing for NaNoWriMo, so forgive the extravagant yet terribly unwieldy phrases).
I'm giving it 3 stars no because of any philosophical eurekas, but it was a fun short book that I immediately re-listened the moment I finished it. Yes, I read (listened as audiobook) this one twice. Back to back.
The target audience for this book, I guess I'm not.
I'm giving it 3 stars no because of any philosophical eurekas, but it was a fun short book that I immediately re-listened the moment I finished it. Yes, I read (listened as audiobook) this one twice. Back to back.
The target audience for this book, I guess I'm not.
August 25, 2014
This book is witty but by no means will it offer too much insight on "how to use logic to get over your ex" as the book summary suggests... or for that matter help you learn to use logic to understand much of anything. Nonetheless it is entertaining, it has an easygoing tone where the authors connect, what seems to be, their personal journal entries with ancient philosophy to bring philosophy to life. The things said reminded me of things my more intelligent friends have said themselves. This book will make you chuckle if you have an analytic habit yourself or have friends who do.
March 10, 2014
Obviously written for an age group outside of 19 - 28, and I feel like that's insulting Millenials. I've taken a cursory glance at a few reviews, most of which mentioned her use of foul language which I did not find troublesome nor rampant, but there seemed to me to be so much about her sex life, everyone's sex life, that it just became maddening for me. Okay, okay, you have sex... alot. So much of her behavior verged on embarrassing, but that might be my age group, who knows, but I found the entire book more like an exercise in "look how cool I think I am" than, IDK... philosophy.
May 5, 2014
I only read this because it was a free gift on Audible.com. The author is really full of herself (she flat out calls stupid anyone who doesn't think she is very smart), and full of double-standards (she thinks she is great because she studied philosophy in college and cites admiration to a number of philosophers, but says that everyone who studies philosophy in college is a conceited loser). She is inconsistent, superficial, and very preachy. HOWEVER, she is pretty funny, and this can be a fun short read, just don't try to learn anything from it.
February 16, 2014
The premise of the book caught my attention. However the actuality of it is that she judges everyone and lumps people into category. We are stupid appears to be the theme of the book. Especially those that have faith in ideas other than philosophy. The use of profanity does not make it hip or "now". Very self centered. No I would not recommend.
May 22, 2014
'Bout all I can say for this book is that it was mercifully short.
The last 1/3rd (on religion) kept it from being a 1 star.
Both PhiLOLZophy and the last book I read (Girl at the End of the World) feature women that converted to Catholicism, specifically because it's so very different from the evangelical fundamentalism that they grew up with.
The last 1/3rd (on religion) kept it from being a 1 star.
Both PhiLOLZophy and the last book I read (Girl at the End of the World) feature women that converted to Catholicism, specifically because it's so very different from the evangelical fundamentalism that they grew up with.
June 17, 2015
The underlying philosophy was sound, and I enjoyed that they made philosophy practical and enjoyable, but they don't discuss psychology or biology at all. They ask great questions but I don't like the answers. Also, I think I might have a slightly better understanding of philosophy than they expect from their readers, and their disdain for religion was unpalatable.
February 15, 2014
Ah, hell -- I don't know the philosophical implications for a 50 something male reviewing something meant for a 20 something female, but they at least got the existential angst thing down right. That doesn't change regardless of the age.
September 11, 2016
Got this as an audio-book which was a good idea because the book itself may have been unbearable, while the audio was somewhat fun to listen to without getting too serious about philosophy, which is just the point of this book.
March 6, 2014
Well this book was definitely not the target audience but I think it got some things right. The authors would have been interesting date to say the least. Could not see how it would have lasted - LOL.
April 8, 2014
Somewhat interesting look at application of philosophical arguments to ones' life. Being a girl in her late 20s myself, this sort of applies. I understand the "existential crisis" the author(s) goes through. Too much coarse language for my taste, but the wittiness at times makes up for it.
April 10, 2014
Pretty funny booklet. Not too much about philosophy, and if there were, I didn't understand or remember it. A lot more advice about relationships, especially those with the opposite gender. That would help some twenty-somethings. Fun to relisten sometime.
July 13, 2014
Boy do I hate this book. What a pointless exercise in narcissistic preaching . All pretense to it being about philosophy is dropped very quickly as it morphs into a self help book for the YA set by someone who sounds very young and inexperienced but full of herself.
April 19, 2015
Deep but only in a very shallow way
(unabridged audible version luckily basically for free)
Theresa McCarthy did a very good job in her performance of the book - captured the spirit of the book well.
Cant really recommend the book at all.
(unabridged audible version luckily basically for free)
Theresa McCarthy did a very good job in her performance of the book - captured the spirit of the book well.
Cant really recommend the book at all.
January 31, 2016
Mixes classic philosophy with an even dose of street smarts from a young lady well versed in the college seen on dating, partying, and the baggage that comes along with that life style.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews