The grim reaper upgrades from a scythe to a combine harvester
The grim reaper buys a combine harvester
The personification of death in the form of the grim reaper upgrades from his scythe to a combine harvester. The harvester is here a symbol of much greater ‘harvesting’ power than the scythe – in other words a means of achieving a much greater death toll, similar to a weapon of mass destruction.
Cartoon reference number: a750
A chess board as a metaphor for conflict resolution – cartoon
A chessboard on which the chess pieces are not only black and white but are also shades of grey.
The idea of the cartoon is that conflict occurs when things are seen in black and white or when people are polarised in outlook. With shades of gray or nuances of opinion conflict is less likely – specifically as on the chessboard in the illustration.
This is not a metaphor about race or racial prejudice, although metaphorical links can be made.
The cartoon is a comment on the fact that people tend to analyse things in black and white, as “either/or” or in binary.
Cartoon drawn: 2012
Cartoon reference number: a701
Scientific discovery – reach for the stars – cartoon
A cartoon showing an astronomer reaching for the stars by reaching up inside an astronomical telescope.
The astronomer’s hand is appearing out or the top of the telescope as though it is grasping for the stars.
An illustration concerning people’s urge to discover more about the universe through scientific exploration.
A cartoon about scientific exploration, inquiring minds, curiosity, curiousity, reaching for the stats.
In recent years telescopes in space such as the Hubble telescope and the James Webb telescope have pushed our understanding of the universe further.
Original version drawn: 1999
Cartoon reference number: a698
Weird illustration of a person with a padlock as a head – and the key as a pet
Bizarre illustration of a padlock as a person’s head
A bizarre or surrealist image showing a person with a padlock as a head – and with the padlock’s key on a lead like a pet dog.
The image was created with no specific meaning, although it’s probably an unconscious metaphor for something as it gives the impression of aspiring to be psychologically meaningful.
Perhaps it’s meant to refer in some ways to psychology or psychological processes, the workings of the mind, the conceptualisation of ideas and such like. Perhaps it’s about the way that people become locked into particular patterns of thought and behaviour (while possessing the key to their release).
A cartoon about cognition, thought processes, psychiatry, the mind.
I think it owes a debt to surrealist art, with a touch of Rene Magritte or salvador Dali in there
Date created: 2013
Cartoon reference number: a602
Be true to yourself – cartoon
A cartoon about the pitfalls of ‘being yourself’ and ‘being true to yourself’
The illustration shows a guru dispensing advice to ‘Be true to yourself in all things’.
The cartoon highlights the absurdity of the expression ‘To thine own self be true’, as the expression can be taken as a license for people to do whatever they want. The expression only makes sense if you assume that everyone’s nature is essentially good.
“To thine own self be true” is a quote from Shakespeare (by Polonius in Hamlet).
The image is a criticism of philosophies and lifestyles that take concepts of self fulfilment or self actualisation to an extreme, or that follow the dictum that it’s morally good to follow the impulses of your own personality without self-restraint.
Cartoon drawn: 2014
Ref: a662
Philosophy cartoon – a philosopher talking to a man with no insight
Philosophy cartoons
Strip cartoon about the nature of philosophy
A philosopher and a layman talk about the meaning of life
The joke in this cartoon is that the layman is intrigued about the purpose of life but the philosopher has come to the conclusion that it isn’t an important question.
It’s a cartoon that questions our assumptions of what is important
Cartoon drawn: 2013
Cartoon reference number: a597
Atheism cartoon – an atheist at the gates of heaven
Atheism cartoon
An atheist arrives at the gates of heaven (the Pearly Gates)
St Peter is pointing out to the atheist that there is a notice on the Pearly Gates declaring “No atheists”.
The atheist is thinking “I don’t believe it!”
The joke is a play on the fact that the atheist doesn’t believe in heaven rather than that he is exasperated by the fact that he isn’t allowed in.
Original version drawn: 2001
Cartoon reference number: rel013
What is Philosophy?
Philosophy cartoon or logo
Using the expression “What is philosophy?”
A talking question mark is asking the question.
My cartoons about philosophy are published in Philosophy Now magazine.
Philosophy cartoon – the human condition
Philosophy cartoon
A signpost to doom
Cartoon. A signpost pointing to negative conditions of the human psyche in all directions (sadness, misery etc). The sign on the top of the signpost indicates where the signpost is right now – boredom.
The people standing beneath the sign decide to stay where they are.
They’d rather be bored than risk experiencing something more negative.
Notice that the signpost has no positive directions on it. This doesn’t mean that there are none – but that to the people beneath the sign see it that way.
A cartoon about motivation, outlook, pessimist, pessimists, optimism (or the lack of it), mindsets, melancholia, negativity, inertia, the human condition.
Cartoon reference number: a101
Philosophy cartoon
Illustration: thinking without words
A cartoon about cognition.
An illustration about the philosophy of language
Non-verbal thoughts
Is language necessary for thinking?
Do we have to think in words
A cartoon about linguistics, articulating concepts, abstract thought processes
First published: Philosophy Now, Jan 2014
Cartoon drawn: Jan 2014
Cartoon reference: a645
Michelangelo pastiche – God creating the rabbit
Michelangelo Sistine Chapel pastiche
A cartoon showing Michelangelo’s God creating the animals – in this case the rabbit
A pastiche of God creating Adam
A quote about science: SCIENCE LIES… at the heart of our search for truth
A science quote about the truth of the scientific purpose.
A riposte to anti-science
Quote playing with the fact that some people misrepresent science as telling lies about the nature of things.
The quote is my own
A typography-based image
This quote is a riposte to the claim by anti-scientific sections of society that science peddles lies and untruths (often at the behest of big business, drug companies, governments and other interested parties). Such critics of science are often unaware of the scientific method.
Cartoon reference number: a631
God doesn’t play dice with the universe – cartoon
God doesn’t play dice with the universe – he prefers card games
A cartoon based on Einstein’s quote “God doesn’t play dice with the universe”. In the cartoon God is playing a game of cards instead
This image has been used on the cover of a pack of playing cards that was used as a gift for physics students
Philosophy logo
Philosophy logo
A question mark incorporating a face
A logo or symbol representing philosophy – in the form of a question mark with a face in the design
A typographical logo of a questionmark symbolising philosophy
See my book on philosophy
Thinking cap – a cartoon about cognition
Cognition cartoon
A cartoon showing a person putting on a ‘thinking cap’.
The thinking cap resembles a brain.
An image about thought processes, thinking, the nature of consciousness, cognition, studying, problem solving – illustrating the saying “Put on your thinking cap”
Original version drawn: 2011
Cartoon reference number: a609
Cartoon of a person watching reality tv – infinite regression image
Reality tv cartoon – showing a person watching reality tv watching a person watching reality tv – an infinite regression image
A cartoon about television reflecting life: about the way that people’s lives are seemlessly integrated with technology – to the point where people only exist in relation to technology
An illustration of people doing nothing but watching reality television, for whom nothing exists beyond the tv screen, the computer screen or the phone screen.
Cartoon created: 2011
Cartoon reference number: a608
Altruism cartoon
Altruism cartoon
An illustration depicting altruistic behavior
The cartoon shows a person spanning a chasm or abyss, acting as a bridge with other people walking across.
The benefits of altruism are sometimes debated in evolutionary terms, sometimes arguing that altruism evolved because the good of the group is more important than the good of the individual. Altruism may also be seen as a form of display, where the altruistic individual is displaying his or her positive qualities to others, thus improving social status.
The illustration could also be interpreted as depicting exploitation, depending on context
Cartoon created: 2010
Cartoon reference number: a616
Neurological or genetic causes of criminality – cartoon
Medicalisation of deviant behaviour cartoon
Neurological origins of behavioural traits
Neurocriminology and its implications
A cartoon about the possibility that criminal behaviour or deviant behaviour may sometimes (or often) have its roots in a person’s biology.
The idea that personality may be determined by biology is one aspect of the nature v nurture debate, and has implications for the concept of free will
An illustration about the medicalization of behaviour. This may include behavioural syndromes ranging from psychopathic tendencies and deviance to conditions such as hyperactivity, ADHD (attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder), rebelliousness or non-conformity.
The cartoon illustrates the tendency of criminal lawyers to sometimes claim, for instance, that particular parts of dna or neurological makeup are responsible for criminal behaviour – thus removing responsibility from the person and placing it on the person’s dna or neurology.
The subject of neurological origins for criminal behaviour is dealt with in the book The Anatomy of Violence by Adrian Raine
The cartoon was first published in Philosophy Now magazine
Cartoon reference number: a607
Illustration: unlock your creativity: unlock your mind
Bizarre cartoon featuring a padlock as a person’s head or an imaginary creature’s head
An illustration about unlocking creativity
A bizarre or surrealist image showing a person or imaginary creature with a head in the form of a padlock.
The person is holding a key and is saying “Unlock your imagination!”.
The illustration is about freeing the imagination or liberating the mind to be creative. It is an image to convey the link between creativity and thought processes
The cartoon has uses as an illustration in art education or in areas of philosophy or psychology.
For a less bizarre, more child-friendly version of the same concept click here
Cartoon reference number: a603
Padlock head – a cartoon about psychology
Padlock head cartoon
A surreal or bizarre image showing a person with a head in the form of a padlock.
The person is holding the padlock’s key in their hands.
The drawing was created with no idea what it means, although it’s probably an unconscious metaphor for something as it gives the impression of aspiring to be psychologically profound. Perhaps it’s meant to refer in some ways to psychology, the workings of the mind, the conceptualisation of ideas and so on. Maybe it’s about the way that people become locked into patterns of thought and behaviour (while holding the key to escaping).
A cartoon about cognition, thought processes, psychiatry, the mind
Date created: 2013
Cartoon reference number: a601
Philosophy cartoon – a philosopher talking to a man with no insight
Philosophy cartoons
Strip cartoon about the nature of philosophy
A philosopher and a layman talk about the meaning of life
The joke in this cartoon is that the layman is intrigued about the purpose of life but the philosopher has come to the conclusion that it isn’t an important question.
It’s a cartoon that questions our assumptions of what is important
Yes or No? Being pulled in opposite directions – illustration
Yes or No – which will win in a tug-of-war?
A cartoon illustrating the idea of being pulled in two directions at once, or of indecision.
A conceptual illustration that might be about voting, a yes and no vote in an election, indecisive behaviour, being pulled in several directions, opposites pulling in opposite directions, weighing up an argument, forming opinions, decisiveness
Cartoon reference number: a587
Professor Brian Cox cartoon – we are stardust
Professor Brian Cox cartoon
We are made of stardust
A humorous comment about the fact that all of the elements apart from hydrogen and helium were created inside stars – so everything is made of stardust, including the less pleasant things
The joke here is that when the tv astronomer Professor Brian Cox says that everything is made of stardust he really lays it on thick in a way that many people, especially women, find very attractive. So here the woman is actually saying that she finds Brian Cox attractive, and it even affects her attitude to slugs
See my book on the nature of the universe
Cartoon drawn: 2011
Cartoon reference number: a586
Philosophy cartoon – cogito ergo sum
Philosophy cartoons
Cogito ergo sum – I think therefore I am
The cartoon refers to the idea that people create their own reality or project reality outwards from their minds. The idea is that the outer reality is an illusion created by neurological activity (or some other process if neurological activity is an illusion)
The cartoon shows a person creating a thought bubble inside which the person is sitting – thus creating their own reality
The phrase cogito ergo sum (I think therefore I am) is attributed to philosopher René Descartes
Original version drawn: 1984
Reference number: a573
Ludwig Wittgenstein caricature
Ludwig Wittgenstein caricature
Ludwig Wittgenstein (26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951), philosopher
Main fields of interest: logic,the philosophy of mathematics, of mind, and of language
First published in Philosophy Now magazine
Created: 2006
Reference number: a571
Giant space monster cartoon – size is relative
Cartoon – a giant space monster is still insignificant when compared to the size of the universe
A cartoon about the importance of context to significance
The cartoon shows two astronauts about to be devoured by a huge space worm
The inspiration behind this cartoon is the assertion that people sometimes make that people are insignificance when compared to the vastness of the universe. It’s my view that the size of the universe is of no significance for all practical purposes
Cartoon reference number: a567
Cartoon – aliens trying to deduce what humans look like based on limited evidence
Cartoon – aliens trying to deduce what humans look like based on limited evidence
Aliens trying to visualise what humans look like based on their clothing – however the aliens only have a glove and a shoe with which to work
A cartoon about trying to reach conclusions when you don’t have enough evidence
In the cartoon the aliens have deduced that a human glove is a garment for the body and the (five) legs, while the shoe is an article of headgear like a hat.
The aliens have reached their conclusion due to their bias towards their own body forms.
A cartoon about cognitive limitations, cultural bias
Cartoon reference number: a565
Cartoon – an alien visiting earth observes man’s inhumanity to man
Cartoon – an alien asking a soldier what monster he is fighting
The cartoon shows an extraterrestrial creature that has landed on earth. The alien is talking to a soldier who is dressed in fighting gear and is heavily armed. The alien is asking the soldier what sort of monster he shares his planet with that he has to be so well armed against it
The joke, of course, is that the monster is us, the human race
This cartoon makes a very negative point about the human race. Personally I think that the human race is okay, but that we tend to have too high an expectation of ourselves and an unrealistic view of the possibility that we can attain an ideal state of existence.
I drew this cartoon in the 1970s. It’s now forty years later. By coincidence I’ve just read a few articles about philosopher John Gray, who is of the opinion that the human race is not exactly the best thing to have evolved on this planet. Possibly a bit misanthropic, but not deluded in the way that some of the more shiny concepts of the nature of humanity are. John Gray’s latest book is The Silence of Animals