Roald Dahl and Philosophy: A Little Nonsense Now and Then by Jacob M. Held


Roald Dahl and Philosophy: A Little Nonsense Now and Then
Title : Roald Dahl and Philosophy: A Little Nonsense Now and Then
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : -
Language : English
Format Type : Kindle Edition
Number of Pages : 320
Publication : First published January 1, 2014

For generations the elements of humor, poignancy, fantasy, and unfettered morality found within acclaimed children’s author Roald Dahl’s most famous tales have captivated both children and adults. Classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Matilda, and The BFG may initially appear to be yarns spun for the amusement of the adolescent mind, however, upon digging deeper one uncovers a treasure trove of philosophical richness that is anything but childish, but in fact reveals the true existential weight, and multi-layered meaning of some of our favorite children’s stories. Editor Jacob M. Held has collected the insights of today’s leading philosophers into the significances, messages, and greater truths at which Dahl’s rhythmic writing winks, revealing a whole new way to appreciate the creation of a man and mind to which readers of all ages are still drawn.

Roald Dahl and Philosophy: A Little Nonsense Now and Then Reviews

  • Eustacia Tan

    I think most kids read Roald Dahl. Well, I'm not sure about kids today, but when I was a kid, everyone was reading Roald Dahl. Him and Enid Blyton. But today, I want to talk about Roald Dahl.

    Roald Dahl was the guy that wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And Matilda. And well, a bunch of other stuff, including the short stories that I only discovered when I grew up (and that's a good thing because his short stories are dark). The whole premise of this book is that Roald Dahl's books are excellent material to use when talking about philosophy because of that element of darkness in the books. After all, all this books start of with people in dire straits - Charlie is starving to death, Matilda is neglected and abused, James is an orphan abused by his guardians, etc.

    Topics in this book include:
    - Matilda, Existentialist Superhero
    - Of Mice and (Posthu)Man: Roald Dahl's The Witches and Ethics beyond Humanism
    - Matilda and the Philosophy of Education: or, What's an Education for?
    - Shattering the Glass Elavator: Authencity and Social Order in the Works of Roald Dahl
    - The Fantasically Just Mr. Fox: Property and Distributive Justice According to Foxes and Other diggers

    and so on. There is a total of 16 topics in this book. Some are easier to digest than others, but on the whole, if you're familiar with Roald Dahl, you should be able to understand what the authors are talking about,

    My favourite chapter is Matilda and the Philosophy of Education: or, What's an Education for? In this chapter, three schools of education - essentialism, progressivism and romanticism is examined through the book Matilda and its various characters. I admit, it's not the first topic that comes to mind when I think of Matilda (I think of bullying when I think of this book - bullying by adults), but I found this to be an eye-opening read.

    I'm definitely saving up for a hard-copy of this book.

    Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

    This review was first posted at
    Inside the mind of a Bibliophile

  • Magdalena

    This was a really fun read that underscored why Roald Dahl is one of my favorite authors of all time. The book also introduced me to some philosophical concepts that I didn't know anything about before, using familiar Dahl stories. I learned a lot.

  • Yousra Bushehri

    This book should not have taken me this long. It's only 215 pages, but I was being super lazy about it. And mostly, I used to read during my commutes to work and the gym, but ever since I started driving that cut down on my reading time.

    Anyway, this was such an easy read and I loved it. It's a book I know I'll be referring back to when I actually do my PhD. The language is very conversational and easy-going..and a little funny too.

    I loved the topics of each chapter. I loved the philosophy and psychology that was linked to Dahl's work. I just really loved so much about this.