336 pages
English language
Published June 27, 2006 by Plume.
Both entertaining and startling, The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten offers one hundred philosophical puzzles that stimulate thought on a host of moral, social, and personal dilemmas. Taking examples from sources as diverse as Plato and Steven Spielberg, author Julian Baggini presents abstract philosophical issues in concrete terms, suggesting possible solutions while encouraging readers to draw their own conclusions:Lively, clever, and thought-provoking, The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten is a portable feast for the mind that is sure to satisfy any intellectual appetite. BACKCOVER: “Thinking again is what this taut, incisive, bullet-hard book is dedicated to promoting.”—The Sunday Times (London)“This book is like the Sudoku of moral philosophy: apply your mind to any of its ‘thought experiments’ while stuck on the Tube, and quickly be transported out of rush-hour hell.”—New Statesman
"The Pig That Wanted to Be Eaten" by Julian Baggini is a fun exercise in armchair philosophy. It presents 100 short scenarios that test out numerous philosophical stances and ideas. A good place to whet your appetite for philosophy and have some fun things to ask at dinner parties.
A collection of thought experiments, intuition pumps, and what-if questions from the world of philosophy. Some of them were already familiar to me, though most were new, and I expect that a professional philosopher won't find anything new here (except maybe new ways of presenting these topics to students).
Baggini doesn't provide any answers, since the whole point is to invite the reader to think about them and come to their own conclusions.
