Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington: Understanding Political Doublespeak Through Philosophy and Jokes

Written by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

Narrated by Johnny Heller

Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein aren’t falling for any election-year claptrap—and they don’t want their readers to, either! In Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington, our two favorite philosopher-comedians return just in time to save us from the doublespeak and flimflam of politics in America.

Deploying jokes and cartoons as well as the occasional insight from Aristotle and his peers, Cathcart and Klein explain what politicos are up to when they state: “The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence” (Donald Rumsfeld), “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is” (Bill Clinton), or even, “We hold these truths to be self-evident …” (Thomas Jefferson et al.).

Drawing from the pronouncements of everyone from Caesar to Condoleezza Rice, Genghis Khan to Hillary Clinton, and Adolf Hitler to Al Sharpton, Cathcart and Klein help us learn to identify tricks like “The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy” (non causa pro causa) and “The Fallacy Fallacy” (argumentum ad logicam). Aristotle and an Aardvark is for anyone who ever felt the politicians and pundits were speaking Greek. At least Cathcart and Klein provide us with the Latin for it (fraudatio publica)!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 18, 2008
• ISBN: 9781436115766

Thomas Cathcart

Thomas Cathcart graduated from Harvard with a degree in philosophy, studied theology at the University of Chicago, and embarked on a “checkered career” (his words) from college teaching to hospice management until, at the age of 67, he started his writing life by coauthoring Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar with Daniel Klein. Mr. Cathcart and his wife live in New York City.

Reviews for Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington

[benkline · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another quick and easy breeze of a read in the same vein as their first work (Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar). Though not as entertaining or as funny as their first work, it was enlightening to how the politicos speak, and their level of bullshit. Though primarily based on the George W. Bush's presidency and a bit after, it does delve into some past political leaders and pundits.

[occamshammer · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is a review for the unabridged audio version of Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington.

Very rarely does a book come along that fails at every point. This book reads like a college essay written two hours before the due date. The feeble attempt to educate the reader about fallacies in logical arguments are undermined by the fact that the best examples of bad logic comes from the authors own diatribes. Jokes that are intended to illustrate the points of the author are old and lame. Politics of the author are interjected in the most clumsy manor. Conservative politicians are described as being weasel like while liberals are treated with kids gloves. Basically it is mental masturbation for the left wing set.

[alincolnnut · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Following up their successfully funny and informative approach to philosophy in "Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar," Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein follow it up with "Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington," which claims to show the philosophical and logical fallacies of 'political doublespeak.'

The problem is that Cathcart and Klein constantly fall into the same fallacies that they claim to be pointing out in others. Rather than offering a humorous introduction to logic, they simply berate Republicans for their irrational rhetoric, and by implication, their irrational and indefensible political positions.

There is much doublespeak in politics -- talking points from both sides of the political spectrum are rife with logical fallacies. One could write a very funny book that pointed these things out, but this is not that book. Given the insight and playfulness that Cathcart and Klein demonstrated with "Plato and a Platypus…" I expected much better. As much as I enjoyed that book, I hated this one. Any time an author or authors allow their political views to cloud their reason, the result is not pretty. In this book, the result is ugly indeed.

[quilted_kat · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bad political jokes are used as examples to explain logical fallacies. Mildly entertaining, but only if you are current on American Politics in George W.'s administration.

[guitarbeast_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I thought the author spent far too much time espousing his personal political views. Plato and a Platypus was a much better book, unlike Aristotle and an Ardvark, I couldn't put it down. This one I could hardly finish and I'm not even a conservative.