The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher

Written by Julian Baggini

Narrated by Paul Hilliar

Perfect for gifting to lovers of philosophy or mining intelligent ice-breaker topics for your next party, 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 listeners 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Sep 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798765061664

Julian Baggini

Julian Baggini's books include the internationally bestselling How the World Thinks; How to Think Like a Philosopher; The Virtues of the Table; and The Pig That Wants to be Eaten. He is the Academic Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and is a member of the Food Ethics Council. He is a regular columnist for The Guardian, Prospect magazine, Financial Times and a columnist and book reviewer for The Wall Street Journal. He has also written for New Humanist magazine, The Week, New Statesman, New York Times and Literary Review. Visit him at julianbaggini.com.

Reviews for The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten

[paul_s-289480 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It's like reading a table of contents. An interesting table of contents but I can't help thinking it would be worthwhile if the author went into some more detail, maybe researching what other philosophers wrote about each of the subjects, showing different arguments and generally fleshing out the concepts. And why can't the author quote the original text or at least paraphrase it? Instead the examples are rewritten but the source material is then revealed - what was the point of that? As it is it's a fun but insubstantial book.

[beholderess · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An interesting and thought-provoking exploration of ethics. Struggling with the examples - and with why I'd choose one course of action over the other - helped me to better understand my own position.

[thedivineoomba · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It took me a bit of effort to get into this book. The first 20 puzzles weren't all that interesting. But than... I started to really think about what each story was asking - how was it the same or different than a similar scenario.

The book was easy to read, philosophy in nice bite sized pieces. The explanation at the end was also intriguing - it gave a few ways to analyse the problem, without coming to an answer.

This is a great book for simple thought experiments - I can see a number of these being used in an introductory philosophy class. Highly recommended if you want a light course in philosophy, without worrying about all the heavy language.

[diwanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What an interesting little book. Great for people with short attention spans like me as each chapter is only about 2-4 pages long. Basically he takes 100 philosophical arguments and presents them in a new light, then explains where he got them from and why this idea is important. Very simple to read, but you'll find yourself thinking about each subject long after the book is down. A great book to share also as it's fun to talk about each argument.

[steve55_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There is a strange paradox that our ability to think sets humanity apart, yet for the most part we resist at every opportunity the challenge of actually thinking. I recall a wonderful quotation from Steve Allen
“Impartial observers from other planets would consider ours an utterly bizarre enclave if it were populated by birds, defined as flying animals that nevertheless rarely or never actually flew. They would also be perplexed if they encountered in our seas, lakes, rivers, and ponds, creatures defined as swimmers that never did any swimming. But they would be even more surprised to encounter a species defined as a thinking animal if, in fact, the creature very rarely indulged in actual thinking.”

So, to the book. As its subtitle reveals is an invitation to thinking.
Perhaps the most famous thought experiment was conducted by Einstein when he imagined what it would be like to ride on a light beam. Pursuing that thought led him to question well established beliefs and ultimately led to his special theory of relativity, Here are 100 opportunities to explore, prompted by intriguing questions which invite you to challenge your beliefs, values and understanding.

For example the question in the title invites you to consider a future where pigs have been bred not only to speak, but also to desire being eaten as their life’s wish. How would this affect people’s willingness to eat meat?

Discussion points are offered for each question which broaden and illuminate possible areas to consider. The value of the book is not found by arriving at answers, rather exercising your mind in being able to take the journey.

The 99 other questions provide stimulating brain exercise and plenty of discussion points. As a result you’ll probably see a host of things in a new light.

[koeniel · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The title is confusing and therefore interesting, which is why I picked up the book. Basically this is a book which contains 100 short thought experiments, or short scenarios, which could be strange and weird like what's used as the title, which are used to explain a moral, ethical or philosophical problem in a vivid and concrete way. Confusing? It is. Basically this is the work of philosophers. They sit down and play around with weird scenarios like this, detaching themselves from the real world. Some of the scenarios are interesting and provide a rich food for thought. It could be nice discussion or debate themes, if you're into this kind of stuff. Because it's a compilation of many short scenarios it can be picked up and put down anytime. It could be a great travel reading, if you're into this kind of thing. It could be boring, if you don't like it. It certainly is a good way to encourage our brain to work harder. But to me this book mainly enlighten me on how a philosopher's work.