(Nudge Nudge, Think Think!)
-edited by gary l. hardcastle & george a. reisch
2006
A collection of essays from philosophers, about the resonances of philosophy in the universe of Monty Python...and not merely philosophical thought, but specific references to (and comments upon) differing schools of philosophy, both ancient and modern. Some writers (ahem) have gone so far as to suggest that a person's reaction to Python is one of the most foolproof, reliable measures of intelligence. Whether or not that's so, genuine philosophers seem to have no immunity to Python magic, as many of these writers credit Python with inspiring their careers. The essays range from fantastic to middling to contractually obligatory (i'm looking at you, 3, 9, and 13). The most brilliant by far are "Against Transcendentalism: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life and Buddhism", by stephen t. asma, and "Madness in Monty Python's Flying Circus", by michelle spinelli. Asma's piece is simply one of the most piercing and concise summations of buddhism i've ever come across. What does that have to do with Python? A whole lot, actually. And spinelli's contribution is an historical deconstruction of the evolution of "madness" in western society. Reading it will make you understand yet another aspect of how far our society has strayed from any semblance of health.
A wonderful read. And not just because you'll finally learn every single lyric to the bruce's "Philosopher's Song".
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