Talking in Circles: Serious Philosophical Dialogues on the Silliness of Philosophy is a book of dialogues I wrote some years ago. It's a thought experiment . . . of sorts. Though many philosophers conduct thought experiments, creative hypothetical scenarios designed to trigger certain philosophical intuitions, this book is a thought experiment of a different sort; it’s an experiment with thought. It involves throwing oneself down the “philosophical rabbit-hole,” losing touch with reality, and trying to re-gain ones footing.
In the dialogues, the various characters get stuck in “The Loop,” an overarching and all-encompassing philosophical system that undermines any attempt to pin down the way things really are. The stars of the dialogues are Mr. Thinker, a man driven mad pondering imponderable questions, a magical genie who desperately aims to answer to these questions, and Pete, a normal guy who causes all of this trouble by asking these questions. In the process of falling hopelessly into the Loop, the characters have some rather earth-shattering encounters with things that are quite difficult to describe such as enlightenment, ego-death, mystical union, and even the book itself. The journey takes you seemingly farther and farther down the rabbit-hole only to pop you out exactly where you jumped in, bringing the loop full circle. If you let yourself get sucked in, it will take you for a pretty wild ride. Indeed, be warned! It may be written in a light and amusing fashion, but it’s not for the faint of heart!
If you want a hard copy, so you can take it wherever without having to look at a computer screen, you can get one here (I make no profit on this).
In the dialogues, the various characters get stuck in “The Loop,” an overarching and all-encompassing philosophical system that undermines any attempt to pin down the way things really are. The stars of the dialogues are Mr. Thinker, a man driven mad pondering imponderable questions, a magical genie who desperately aims to answer to these questions, and Pete, a normal guy who causes all of this trouble by asking these questions. In the process of falling hopelessly into the Loop, the characters have some rather earth-shattering encounters with things that are quite difficult to describe such as enlightenment, ego-death, mystical union, and even the book itself. The journey takes you seemingly farther and farther down the rabbit-hole only to pop you out exactly where you jumped in, bringing the loop full circle. If you let yourself get sucked in, it will take you for a pretty wild ride. Indeed, be warned! It may be written in a light and amusing fashion, but it’s not for the faint of heart!
If you want a hard copy, so you can take it wherever without having to look at a computer screen, you can get one here (I make no profit on this).