How to Teach Philosophy to Your Dog
Exploring the Big Questions in Life
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Because man’s best friend deserves to know the secrets of how to live a good life, too.
Monty was just like any other dog. A scruffy and irascible Maltese terrier, he enjoyed barking at pugs and sniffing at trees. But after yet another dramatic confrontation with the local Rottweiler, Anthony McGowan realizes it’s high time he and Monty had a chat about what makes him a good or a bad dog.
Taking his lead from Monty’s canine antics, McGowan takes us on a hilarious and enlightening jaunt through the major debates of philosophy. Will Kant convince Monty to stop stealing cheesecake? How long will they put up with Socrates poking holes in every argument?
In this uniquely entertaining take on morality and ethics, the dutiful duo set out to uncover who—if anyone—has the right end of the ethical stick and can tell us how best to live one’s life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McGowan (The Art of Failing), a lecturer on philosophy and creative writing, playfully explores philosophy in this amusing collection of imaginary dialogues conducted with his Maltese terrier, Monty. During the pair's walks through north London, Monty (at least in the brief responses McGowan gives to him) provides a foil for the author's ruminations on various concepts about ethics, free will, knowledge, and the meaning of life. While taking Monty to a familiar spot on the bank of the Thames, McGowan is moved to consider pre-Socratic thinker Heraclitus, who coined the famous adage about the "impossibility of stepping into the same river" twice. McGowan also considers how philosophy and life reflect upon each other. Monty is an aging dog with a bad hip, so conversations on the nature of existence such as what Plato's theory of forms has to say about his essential nature as a dog and death suit his stage of life. McGowan gives their "conversation" the sense of an easy give-and-take, with agreeably down-to-earth lines for Monty such as "Spinoza sounds quite cool" or "So determinism loses, hurrah!" Readers who have never roamed the paths of philosophy before, or who could use a return trip, will appreciate this enjoyable tour from a friendly guide and his loyal companion. Correction: An earlier version of this review misspelled the author's last name.
