Three Answers to the Question “What Is Philosophy?”

“Classical comedies start with a problem and have a happy ending. Modern comedies make you laugh. Stuart Dalton’s Three Answers to the Question “What Is Philosophy?” is both. An enjoyably engaging introduction that traces the discipline through its multiple phases, it leaves students knowing that philosophy is abstract yet useful, traditional yet relevant, but most of all profound yet fun.”


—Steven Gimbel, professor of philosophy, Gettysburg College





“I once had a student who claimed that ‘philosophy is just one big important party.Double’ I never thought someone would write a book with that as the main thesis, but Stuart Dalton has done so! This book is fantastic. My only frustration is that I wish I were cool enough to have written it.”


—J. Aaron Simmons, professor of philosophy, Furman University





“Stuart Dalton tells us that philosophy is often unintentionally funny and always badly written. Then, against his own principles, he gives us a wonderful book of philosophy that is deliberately funny and written with grace and eloquence. This book, which will be of interest for everyone attending or teaching an Introduction to Philosophy class, narrates the history of Western philosophy in the only proper way—irreverently and ecstatically.”


—Dustin Peone, author of Making Philosophy Laugh: Humor, Irony, and Folly in Philosophical Thought