Peter Cave (2)
Author of Can A Robot be Human?: 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles
For other authors named Peter Cave, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Peter Cave is a philosopher, Patron of Humanists UK and Honorary Associate Lecturer at the Open University. He is author of many articles and books, including The Big Think Book, which is also published by Oneworld.
Series
Works by Peter Cave
How to Think Like a Bat and 34 Other Really Interesting Uses of Philosophy (2011) 28 copies, 1 review
John Stuart Mill on... 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 20th Century
- Gender
- male
- Education
- King's College, Cambridge
University College London - Occupations
- Philosophy Lecturer
- Organizations
- The Open University
- Short biography
- Peter Cave is an associate lecturer at The Open University, UK, having formerly lectured at City University London and other universities, including the University of Khartoum, Sudan. He studied philosophy at University College London and King's College Cambridge. He is Chair of the Humanist Philosophers of Great Britain and is often involved in public debates on philosophical, religious, and political matters, arguing for toleration and against the repressions generated by certain godly beliefs. Curiously for a philosopher, he is also a Chartered Financial Planner and is involved in setting the regulators' financial examinations.
Peter has scripted and presented humorous philosophy programmes for BBC radio-and has often written light philosophy articles. His academic interests focus on paradoxes, with papers appearing in academic philosophy journals American Philosophical Quarterly, The Monist, Analysis, etc. His recent books are the best-selling (in the UK) 2007 philosophy book Can a Robot be Human: 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles (2007) and (2008) What's Wrong with Eating People? 33 More Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles (both published in Oxford by Oneworld). More serious works are Humanism (Oxford: Oneworld, 2009) and This Sentence Is False: an introduction to philosophical paradoxes (London: Continuum, 2009). His latest book is Do Llamas Fall in Love? (Oxford: Oneworld, 2010).
Peter lives in Soho, in central London, is developing an interest in opera, and, although an atheist, enjoys religious choral music-and is often to be found with a glass of wine in his hand, red or white - the wine, that is.
- Psychology Today - Nationality
- UK
- Places of residence
- Soho, London, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
I love this book as an introduction to philosophical thought. Clever, funny, and very approachable.
This is a good introduction to Philosophy (and a beautifully produced book, with apt cartoons), but should not be read as a systematic introduction! In 35 bite-size pieces of a few pages each, the practical aspects of the philosophical approach can be seen in action. The limitations of chapter size can leave one feeling a little short-changed on detail - and sometimes the explanations are not as clear as they might be. Nevertheless, as an introductory book, it certainly whets the appetite show more for more, and is full of wonderful historical anecdotes about philosophers. There is a useful glossary, and a short index. show less
Some books entertain and amuse you, some books teach you different kinds of stuff and make you think... but sometimes there's a book which covers all of the above. "Can a robot be human" is a must read for anyone engaged in free and uncompromising thinking. Well, it's a must read for anyone, period. Peter Cave's writing is as clear as funny, and the puzzles or paradoxes here presented can really turn our heads upside down, dealing, as they do, with a vast range of philosophical topics, such show more as ethics, metaphysics, politics and so on. However, philosophical as it is, any reader can easily grasp what's going on, even if he or she lacks philosophical backgrounds.
Needless to say this is a mandatory book. show less
Needless to say this is a mandatory book. show less
Nicely written short chapters, each starting with short thought provoking stories. Quick revision of best philosophy thought experiments.
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 12
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 602
- Popularity
- #41,740
- Rating
- 3.1
- Reviews
- 7
- ISBNs
- 124
- Languages
- 7
- Favorited
- 1














