The Duck That Won the Lottery: 100 New Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher

Front Cover
Penguin, Apr 28, 2009 - Philosophy - 336 pages
From the author of the "hugely entertaining"(Publishers Weekly) The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten, lessons in debunking the faulty arguments we hear every day

This latest book from the pop philosophy author of The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten tackles an endlessly fascinating area of popular debate-the faulty argument. Julian Baggini provides a rapid-fire selection of short, stimulating, and entertaining quotes from a wide range of famous people in politics, the media, and entertainment, including Donald Rumsfeld, Emma Thompson, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, and Chris Martin. Each entry takes as its starting point an example of highly questionable-though oddly persuasive-reasoning from a broad variety of subjects. As Baggini teases out the logic in the illogical, armchair philosophers and aficionados of the absurd will find themselves nodding their heads as they laugh out loud. The Duck That Won the Lottery is perfect fodder for any cocktail party and pure pleasure for anyone who loves a good brain twister.

From inside the book

Contents

IV
1
V
4
VI
7
VII
10
VIII
13
IX
16
X
19
XI
22
LV
162
LVI
165
LVII
169
LVIII
172
LIX
175
LX
178
LXI
181
LXII
184

XII
25
XIII
28
XIV
31
XV
34
XVI
37
XVII
40
XVIII
43
XIX
47
XX
50
XXI
54
XXII
57
XXIII
60
XXIV
63
XXV
66
XXVI
69
XXVII
72
XXVIII
75
XXIX
79
XXX
82
XXXI
85
XXXII
88
XXXIII
91
XXXIV
95
XXXV
98
XXXVI
102
XXXVII
106
XXXVIII
110
XXXIX
113
XL
116
XLI
119
XLII
122
XLIII
125
XLIV
128
XLV
131
XLVI
135
XLVII
138
XLVIII
141
XLIX
144
L
147
LI
150
LII
153
LIII
156
LIV
159
LXIII
187
LXIV
190
LXV
193
LXVI
196
LXVII
199
LXVIII
202
LXIX
205
LXX
208
LXXI
211
LXXII
214
LXXIII
217
LXXIV
220
LXXV
223
LXXVI
226
LXXVII
229
LXXVIII
232
LXXIX
235
LXXX
238
LXXXI
241
LXXXII
244
LXXXIII
247
LXXXIV
250
LXXXV
253
LXXXVI
257
LXXXVII
260
LXXXVIII
264
LXXXIX
267
XC
270
XCI
273
XCII
276
XCIII
279
XCIV
283
XCV
286
XCVI
290
XCVII
293
XCVIII
296
XCIX
299
C
302
CI
305
CII
309
CIII
312
CIV
316
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About the author (2009)

Julian Baggini is the editor of The Philosopher’s Magazine.

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