Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think!

Popular Culture and Philosophy #19

by Gary L. Hardcastle, George A. Reisch

From the 1970s cult TV show, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, to the current hit musical Spamalot, the Monty Python comedy troupe has been at the center of popular culture and entertainment. The Pythons John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam are increasingly recognized and honored for their creativity and enduring influence in the worlds of comedy and film. Monty Python and Philosophy extends that recognition into the world of philosophy. Fifteen experts in topics like mythology, Buddhism, feminism, logic, ethics, and the philosophy of science bring their expertise to bear on Python movies such as Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Flying Circus mainstays such as the Argument Clinic, the Dead Parrot Sketch, and, of course, the Bruces, the Pythons’ demented, song-filled vision of an Australian philosophy department. Monty Python and Philosophy follows the same hit format as the other titles in this popular series and explains all the philosophical concepts discussed in laymen’s terms.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Humor, Pop Culture, Film, Essays, Anthologies

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Mike Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the "Philosophy and pop culture" series I've read (the first being inspired by the TV show "Lost"). This one, inspired by the Monty Python show and movies, was more fun to read than the Lost book. Given the source material, many of the authors of this collection of essays tried to inject Pythonesque humour into their pieces, some of them doing it quite well. Given that Monty Python often dealt directly in philosophical humour (think of the philosophy conversation in "The Meaning of Life"), there is a lot of material for the authors to mine and anlyze. Some of the most interesting essays dealt with Monty Python's views on God. One deals with traditional arguments for God's existence and how the Pythons highlight the logical errors in those arguments. Another deals with our rituals towards God and how pointless some of those rituals have become. Note that the Pythons don't claim God doesn't exist; they only claim our views of and behaviours towards God are absurd. A few other essays touch on what the authors believe is the essential existentialist viewpoint of the Pythons: there is no external, objective meaning to life, only the subjective meaning that we each give to our own lives through our actions. There is much food for thought here... and a few dead parrots!

[Mg Goldstyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immanuel Kant was a real pissant
Who was very rarely stable
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
Who could think you under the table
David Hume could out-consume
Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
Who was just as schloshed as Schlegel

There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach ya
'Bout the raising of the wrist
Socrates himself was permanently pissed

John Stuart Mill, of his own free will
With half a pint of shandy got particularly ill
Plato, they say, could stick it away
Half a crate of whiskey every day
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle
Hobbes was fond of his dram
And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart
"I drink therefore I am"

Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed
A lovely little thinker but a bugger when he's pissed

[Lucija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ova knjiga mi se više svidjela od "Tarantino i filozofija" jer sam se ponovo smijala referencama na Monty Python skečeve.

[Naomi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Instead of being organized in chapters addressing philosophical theories--or at least some overlaying theme (aside from the obvious Monty Python tie), this book is a collection of stand-alone essays written by philosophers that often overlap other essays in the book. There were a few authors that found a great tone for their essay, but the majority of the book's submissions either took themselves (and philosophy) too seriously, or tried too hard to match Python's absurdity--both making a majority of the book a chore to read.

It seems as if, in its creation, the editors gave carte blanche to philosophers, without consideration to how readable the end product would be.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the heavy-duty thinker/Python enthusiast. Sometimes funny, always illuminating.

[Erisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's...

Nice

[MH · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of scholarly essays using moments from Monty Python films and sketches (the same ones, repeatedly - The Meaning of Life is low-hanging fruit for philosophy profs) to illuminate elements of philosophy or ideas of philosophers, and vice versa, it's pretty uneven, and not just in terms of quality. Some essays are deep dives into specific moments or philosophical constructs (such as Stephen Asma's fine piece on anti-transcendentalism), but many are guided tours of the Python's most familiar routines combined with a 101 level "what is philosophy?" overview, frustrating to Python fans looking for a deeper cut and anyone looking for a deeper read.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique and comprehensive critique of Monty Pythons ideas expressed in their films skits given by contemporary intellectuals of the current Academic halls of Philosophy. Some are 'right on' and some reviews seem very incomprehensible to me and others 'get it' and give me a great appreciation for those memorable films like 'the Life of Brian' and 'Monty Python and The Search for the Holy Grail'.
I really liked reading about those oh so funny films in the light of the deeper joy in the absurdity they shed light on in our social norms in our institutions.
It was nice to see the farcical of Monty Pythons skits reviewed by so many philosophers and have their humorous skits shown as the takes on existential absurdity that reflect back to writers/philosophers like Camus and Jean P. Sartre for but a few. It was a fun read.

[Pantelis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ας πω αυτό πρώτα: το βιβλίο αυτό δεν απευθύνεται ούτε σε fans των Python, ούτε σε φιλόσοφους. Οι πρώτοι θα το βρουν εξαντλητικό, βαρετό και πιο βαρύ από βουτιά στον Ειρηνικό μ' έναν τσιμεντόλιθο στο κάθε πόδι και Sunn O)))) στα αδιάβροχα ακουστικά του αδιάβροχου Walkman τους. Οι δεύτεροι μάλλον θα γελάσουν -- για όλους τους *λάθος* λόγους.

Η συλλογή -ναι, συλλογή κειμένων είναι- έχει μεικτό υλικό, με τα περισσότερα κείμενα να εστιάζουν επάνω στον Υπαρξισμό και την Αναλυτική Φιλοσοφία. Δεν άλλαξε την ζωή μου, αλλά μ' έφερε σ' επαφή με κάποιες ενδιαφέρουσες απόψεις, μ' έκανε να βαρεθώ με άλλες (και με τα επαναλαμβανόμενα ημιτελή ιστορικά της φιλοσοφίας) και να γελάσω με ελάχιστες.

Το παράχωσα στο ράφι "αξιόλογα βιβλία" και, μάλλον, όλο και κάποια γκόμενα θα με βοηθήσει να ρίξω.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, yes, and fun; hey, with the Pythons as your starting reference point it would be tough to go wrong. But as a collective work, it has a malady common to that genre - not all the essays are worth reading. As one of the authors notes, the most noticeable difference between philosophers and Pytons is that philosophers aren't funny. There are insights in this book, and it is worth reading; but be prepared to slog through some chaff to get to the good stuff.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This my first experience with Philosophy...scarry. I liked it at first, but the more I read, the more I realized that each article was pretty similar to the first one. I think I probably should have gone in with a little more knowledge of basic philosophy. I probably wouldn't been able to get a little more into it.



Sarah

[Jena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. There were sections, such as the essay on Existentialism in Monty Python, that intrigued me enough to get up and find more of my existentialist books. The one draw back I saw was the overuse of the philosophy of Wittgenstein. He was mentioned in almost every other article, and it began to get a bit tedious.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always said that everything I learned about philosophy I learned from Monty Python. Mostly because of their "Bruces' Philosopher Song". Now I know more, whether I'll remember any of it going forward is up for debate, but it was interesting, especially when examples were cited out of classic sketches.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed it much more at the beginning. The essays started to get repetitive. They cited the same sketches and even the same quotes from philosophers it seemed at times. Interesting points were made, but after the third time they became less interesting. Still a great read for Python fans however.

[Helena Braga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fez-me recordar os Monty Python e por um bom tempo fiquei com as cenas dos filmes e das séries na minha memória. Quanto à filosofia, não tem nada a ver, a não ser a certa altura quando colocam filósofos mortos a jogar futebol, de resto, não creio que estejam a querer dar sentido a um homem que come a ter rebentar....ou talvez sim.

[Kevin Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting viewpoints of current day philosophers views of Monty Python's sketch comedy and movies. A lot of it is spot on but others interpretations are really reaching. A bit of a difficult read like most philosophy texts but fun for the most part.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed it. But a critical point is being familiar with Monty Python; the more that you like Monty Python, the more you will like this book. I am not extremely familiar with them, so this wasn't my favorite book ever read. Does cause you to think though. Isn't that the point of reading?

[Wolfman]

Some of it was over my head, but there were parts that were both funny and educational. It was fun to go back and watch the sketches and movies that were discussed in the book with an eye to the philosophy involved.

[Katt · Rating 4 out of 5]

vetsina eseji je neuveritelne zajimava a samozrejme (to snad ani nemusim dodavat, nikdo snad neceka spanelskou inkvizici) vtipna. Cely to samozrejme korunuje Brucova pijacka pisnicka o filozofech, ktera je vlastne zaklad :)

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of thesis (don't be intimated by the word, most of them are fun to read) on Monty Python and their close relationship with Philosophy and philosophical ideas. If you love Monty Python and want to explore more, then you've found yourself another good book to enjoy.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the best in the "Popular Culture and Philosophy" series.

[Sharon]

I shelved this under 'satire', but both the editors are philosophy professors. The contributors all have academic credentials as well.

[Amelia]

A high school graduation gift I've been meaning to actually read.

[KumeKei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Para quem gosta de filosofia principalmente. Os Monty Python são mesmo só para contextualizar.
Mas á medida que vais lendo e lembrando os sketches pensas "pois é!".

[SC]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11386968

[Oliver Ho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot--fun, brief and informative. It covered a wide range of subjects with a light touch.

[J. D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As funny and ironic as Monty Python itself.

[David Markwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's......

Monty Python and Philosophy!

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't like the show when I first saw it. I saw this book and wanted to read. It didn't disappoint. Thought reflecting arguments. Well written. Longer than it should have been. My brain hurts.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monty Python and Philosophy is a walk, even an occasionally silly walk, the principles of philosophy scene through the lens of Python. Only a couple of the essays gets a little ponderous. It does make you reconsider some of the famous sketches too. It’s a fun read.