Summary of Julian Baggini's The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The philosopher must use his own capacity to think rationally to argue and justify his doubt. He cannot afford to doubt that ability. The reality of time can be doubted because the traditional concept of time contains contradictions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669394785

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The philosopher must use his own capacity to think rationally to argue and justify his doubt. He cannot afford to doubt that ability. The reality of time can be doubted because the traditional concept of time contains contradictions.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The psychological continuity theory of personal identity has an intuitive appeal. It is only because it seems to reflect our fundamental intuitions that we can make sense of stories such as Kafka’s Metamorphosis, in which a man wakes up in the body of a beetle.

#2

The fact of teletransportation, in some sense, leaves your life and world exactly as it was. Perhaps to ask whether Stelios is a clone or the same person is the wrong question. We should instead ask what matters about our past and future existence.

Insights from Chapter 3

#1

We must be willing to accept that we are wrong sometimes, and that our past experience may not always be correct. We must consider the possibility that something new and unexpected might force us to rethink our beliefs.

#2

The testimony of one person, even if it is your cousin, is not strong enough to contradict what you know about the natural world, where liquids do not change to solids at a seemingly magical temperature. Yet you must accept that you have not been to those colder climates.

Insights from Chapter 4

#1

The most important factor when it comes to infidelity is the involvement of another person. When we would object to the prospect of our partner using Byte on the Side’s services, that means that the role of the third party is not what causes the hurt, but the turning away from the relationship.

Insights from Chapter 5

#1

There are two main reasons for being a vegetarian: the conditions animals are kept in and the act of killing itself. The first can be addressed by making sure the animal is kept in good conditions, but the second cannot be solved by simply eating animals that do not want to survive.

#2

The idea that eating animals is wrong is based on the yuck factor, which is the instinctive reaction people have when confronted with something that doesn’t seem natural. But is there any good reason why the vegetarian of today shouldn’t share a table with Max just as