If You Can Read This
The Philosophy of Bumper Stickers
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
A PICTURE MAY BE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS—
BUT A FEW CHOICE WORDS CAN SPEAK VOLUMES!
• If Ignorance Is Bliss, Why Aren’t More People Happy?
• Bottled Water Is for Suckers
• Clones Are People Too
• At Least the War on the Environment Is Going Well
• Don’t Believe Everything You Think
• The Revolution Will Be Tweeted
Long before blogs, tweets, and sound bites, people were telling the world how they felt in brief, blunt bursts of information plastered on the backs of their cars. Whether they’re political or religious, passionate or proud, controversial or corny, these brightly colored, boldly lettered mini manifestos are declarations of who we are, where we stand, and what we’d rather be doing. But as bestselling author and noted philosopher Jack Bowen reveals, there’s much more to the pop-culture phenomenon of bumper stickers than rolling one-liners and drive-by propaganda—no less, in fact, than a wise, funny, poignant, contentious, and truthful discourse on the human condition.
Mixing pop culture with the ideas of historically prominent philosophers and scientists, If You Can Read This exposes the deeper wisdom couched behind these slogans—or, as need be, exposes where they have gone wrong. If you brake for big ideas, now’s the time.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his latest, author and philosophy teacher Bowen (A Journey Through the Landscape of Philosophy) has a nifty concept that's unfortunately derailed by an arch tone and a strong, if tacit, atheist subtext. Using popular bumper sticker slogans as a lens to explore philosophy, Bowen comes across some interesting questions-"What happens if a horse and cart runs over a chicken and egg?"-that he doesn't seem fully willing to explore; indeed, taking a cue from bumper stickers themselves, Bowen seems all to willing to run through his ideas as quickly as possible: "To put the cart before the horse and first divulge the solution, the chicken came first." Though they're perhaps meant to dazzle, Bowen's slaloming through philosophical concepts feel hurried, an attempt to convince readers he's right rather than foster thought. Bowen's book also suffers from anti-religion bias, which he never acknowledges outright but makes clear in repeated (and sometimes highly dubious) claims: "To update the scorecard tally: The Numbers Killed in the Name of: Religion: 1 million give or take. Nothing: 0." Further, virtually no theologians are mentioned; one bumper sticker, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy," isn't even attributed to its proper source, Martin Luther. Bowen's concept is certainly a clever way to draw in laypeople, but his hubris and narrow-mindedness is a good way to turn them off. Illus.
