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Philosophy Cartoons – Page 4 – Chris Madden Cartoons

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Philosophy Cartoons

  • Cognition cartoon. Man thinking himself into existence

    cogito-ergo-sum-consciousness-detail-cartoon

    I think therefore I am.
    Descartes maxim “Cogito ergo sum” illustrated.
    Consciousness of self.

    Cartoon showing a person thinking himself into existence.
    Cartoon of a man thinking, with the cartoon thought bubble that he’s generating containing the man himself. The man is inside his own thought bubble.
    The cartoon is a depiction of Rene Descartes’ maxim “Cogito ergo sum”, often translated as “I think therefore I am”.
    A cartoon about the problem “How do I know I exist?” or “Am I a figment of my own imagination?” (or of someone else’s?)

    A cartoon illustration about existentialism, philosophy, solipsism, solipsistic concepts, self awareness, self generation, cognition.
    Cartoon reference number: a129
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  • Life coach guru cartoon. Only watch the news once a day

    Wise sayings cartoon. Only watch the news once a day

    Cartoon about advice on how to live your life.
    Life coach advice – only watch the news once a day.
    The news as noise and the illusion of engagement

    The cartoon shows a ‘lifestyle guru’ telling someone to only watch the news once a day.
    Some people (myself included) watch the news far too often. One of the problems with the broadcast news on tv is that it is extremely superficial, especially when broadcast on a 24 hour rolling news channel. Watching the news sometimes gives the illusion that you are actively engaged in the news, however, we should really be doing other things instead, such as reading books and magazines that analyse and explain in greater depth the implications of the news events of the day. The news is ‘noise’.
    This analysis of the news is similar to that put forward in the book by Alain de Botton, The News. The cartoon predates the book.

    This cartoon is from a series about the phenomenon of gurus, personal counsellors, lifestyle coaches (a recent and rather ludicrous twist on the phenomenon of personal fulfilment), motivational speakers and suchlike. In the series the guru, counsellor or what-have-you is a very ordinary middle aged woman rather than someone who is removed from the humdrum of everyday life, and is meant to represent a parody of lifestyle advisers and self improvement gurus.

    Cartoon about truth, knowledge, opinions, prejudice, bias, philosophy, lifestyle, lifestyle coaching, gurus, motivational speakers, therapy, counselling, current affairs, engagement in society.
    Cartoon reference number: a127
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  • Wise sayings from a life coach guru. “Never believe anyone you agree with”

    life coach cartoon

    Cartoon about how to avoid reinforcement of prejudice.

    Cartoon showing how to avoid having your prejudices confirmed.
    The cartoon shows a ‘lifestyle guru’ telling someone to ‘never believe anyone you agree with’.

    This cartoon is part of a series about the phenomenon of gurus, personal counsellors, lifestyle coaches, motivational speakers and so on. In the series the guru, counsellor or what-have-you is a very ordinary middle aged woman rather than someone who is removed from the humdrum of everyday life, as a deliberate parody of the usual lifestyle advisers and self improvement gurus.

    Cartoon about reinforcement of prejudice, philosophy, lifestyle, lifestyle coaching, gurus, motivational speakers, counselling, truth, knowledge, opinions, prejudice, bias, bigotry, thinking outside the box.
    Cartoon reference number: a126
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  • Therapy or life coaching cartoon: the pursuit of happiness

    The pursuit of happiness

    Cartoon showing a lifestyle guru or life coach explaining the secret of happiness.

    Cartoon showing someone being told by a ‘lifestyle guru’ that to be truly contented you must transcend the present moment of your being.
    The joke is that the person who is being given this advice is obviously in a very good place right now, and transcending his present moment of being is probably the last thing that he’d want to do.
    This cartoon is part of a series about the emergence of gurus, personal counsellors, lifestyle coaches, motivational speakers, therapists and suchlike – a recent development of the philosophy of personal fulfilment. In the series the guru, counsellor or therapist is a very ordinary middle aged woman rather than someone who is removed from the humdrum of everyday life. The speaker is meant to represent to some extent a parody of lifestyle advisers and self improvement gurus, especially those who have a pseudo-spiritual twist to their advise (commonly of a pseudo-buddhist inclination).

    Cartoon about philosophy, lifestyle, lifestyle coaching, gurus, motivational speakers, therapy, counselling, charlatanism, self delusion, aspiration, buddhism.
    Cartoon reference number: a125
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  • Cartoon about intellectual self absorption

    Philosophy

    Cartoon showing a drawback of thinking too much, especially about one subject.
    Cartoon of someone so immersed in thought that he can’t see where he’s going (but doesn’t notice).

    He’s going to fall down an open manhole (which is a cartoon cliche, which is why I’ve used it. People in cartoons should always be on the lookout for open manhole covers. I’ve never seen one in real life I have to admit).

    Cartoon about philosophy, epistemology, thought processes, thinking, knowledge, consciousness, lack of perspective, intellectuals, over intellectualisation, head in the clouds, narrow specialisation, specialisation bias, blinkered vision or outlook.
    Cartoon reference number: a124
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  • Cartoon: a person floating in the air in a balloon powered by thought – a thought balloon

    Person floating with aid of thought balloon

    Cartoon showing the power of thought to transport a person to another place – in this case literally, because the thought balloon has become a proper person-carrying balloon.

    Cartoon showing the power of thought to raise a person to a higher level of appreciation, from which the person can comprehend more due to the elevated position and new perspective.

    Cartoon about philosophy, epistemology, thought processes, thinking, knowledge, power of thought, consciousness.
    Cartoon reference number: a123
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  • Cartoon. The Tibetan Book of the Dead Funny

    tibetan book of the dead funny

    Cartoon. The Tibetan Book of the Dead Funny.
    Mystical teachings on how to laugh in the face of death.

    I’ve added this cartoon of mine now because it looks a little like a David Shrigley drawing, and because the last few cartoons that I’ve added are similar in some ways to David Shrigley artwork too (This interest in David Shrigley is because he has an exhibition of his art – Brain Activity – at the Hayward Gallery in London at the moment (Feb 2012)

    The cartoon shows “The Tibetan Book of the Dead Funny”. Subtitled “Mystical teachings on how to laugh in the face of death”.
    Cartoon reference number: a113
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  • Cartoon/illustration: God, creation myths and the nature of the universe

    God reading about the true nature of the universe

    Cartoon about God and the creation of the universe

    Illustration showing a creation myth

    Part of the joke in the cartoon is that the god figure is reading a book that explains the origins of the universe.
    A cartoon about creation myths, intelligent design, genesis
    The cartoon is an updated version of an illustration that I produced in the 1980s for the Guardian newspaper.
    Cartoon reference number: a103
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  • Ockham’s razor cartoon (or Occam’s razor cartoon)

    Ockham's razor cartoon

    Ockham’s razor cartoon (or Occam’s razor cartoon)

    Ockham’s razor cartoon (or Occam’s razor cartoon). Occam’s razor is the name given to the principle that from among competing hypotheses or ideas the one that gives the simplest and least complex explanation or that makes the fewest new assumptions is more likely to be correct.

    Occam’s razor gets its name from William of Ockham, an English Franciscan friar and philosopher. He didn’t actually originate the maxim that the simpler an explanation was the more likely it was to be correct, but he used the concept frequently so the maxim became associated with him.
    The joke in the cartoon is that Occam finds all of the razors in a shop too complicated, as he thinks that a simpler one will do the job better.
    Cartoon reference number: a102

  • Cartoon – the web of life – and the spider of death

    Web of Life joke, Spider of Death

    Cartoon about the web of life – and the spider of death.

    Cartoon about the web of life & the spider of death.
    The term “The Web of Life” is generally taken to imply something positive, about the interrelatedness of all living things. However, in nature, webs are generally dangerous things, constructed to ensnare prey. I like this dichotomy. In fact, rather than it pointing out the inappropriateness of the ‘web’ metaphor I think it gets it right, even if it does so inadvertently.

    The cartoon is an attempt to overturn the rather anodyne and pseudo-spiritually reassuring notion of a benevolent web of life, replacing it with a more ambiguous and unsettling notion based on the same metaphor.
    It’s partly about the notion of nature, red in tooth and claw.
    Cartoon reference number: a100

  • Welcome to Hell cartoon – there is no cell phone signal in Hell

    Cartoon - Mobile phone signal - welcome to Hell

    Cartoon about Hell – no mobile phone signal in Hell.

    The fact that there is no cell phone signal in Hell is one of the reasons why Hell is Hell.

    Part of the humour of this joke is that people are so reliant on cell phones or mobile phones that the idea of not being able to get a signal is truly terrifying and hellish.
    It’s a cartoon about people’s dependency on and addiction to modern technology, without which they feel alienated and cast adrift.
    The phone signal is fading in the same way that it does when one goes down an escalator into the underground or subway.
    Cartoon reference number: a099

  • Religion cartoon – evangelists trying to convert people to a religion by making special introductory offers

    Religion salesmen cartoon

    Cartoon about religious evangelism – trying to convert people to a religion by making special introductory offers.

    Cartoon – evangelists trying to convert people to a religion by making special introductory offers – eternal life, forgiveness of sins and so on.
    For more on my thoughts on religion, philosophy and related matters, see my book on the subject.

    Cartoon about religious conversion, door-knocking religions, incentives for religion, missionaries, religions saving people’s souls, religious pragmatism.
    Cartoon reference number: a098

  • Cartoon about the human lifespan as a race track – with a start and a finish

    life track - start to finish - cartoon

    Cartoon about the passage of life.

    Mortality cartoon – a person walking along a track that represents ‘life’ – with a starting point and an end.

    The point of this cartoon is that it illustrates an individual life as a short event that is surrounded by a void – it has ’emptiness’ surrounding it (before it started and after it ends).
    I’ve deliberately depicted the course of the person’s life as nothing more than a track similar to a race track for a short running race. This emphasises the brevity of life, as seen in some ways. The track is also totally lacking in features, as if nothing is achieved during the life of the person. This is a deliberate over exaggeration, used here to depict only one possible ‘mood’ about the nature of existence. It also emphasises the vast space at ether end of life.
    This rather depressing view of existence isn’t my own personal view – it’s just one of many possible views (See the cartoon of the person sunbathing in an hourglass for an alternative).
    Cartoon about intimations of mortality, existentialism, mid life crisis, existentialist crisis, death, meaning of life, purpose of life, life’s brief candle, philosophy, the fearful void.
    Cartoon reference number: a097
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  • Cartoon about mortality – sunbathing on the sand in an hourglass

    sunbathing in hourglass cartoon

    Cartoon about the passage of time and its implications on our view of life.

    Mortality cartoon – a person sunbathing by lying on the sand in an hourglass – as the sand trickles away.

    The person in the cartoon doesn’t seem to mind the fact that time is running out, otherwise he’d perhaps try to block the hole in the hourglass rather than just lie on the sand. Or is he unaware of what’s happening? It’s all very ambiguous, which it should be.
    Cartoon about time running out, intimations of mortality, existentialism, zen, mid life crisis, existentialist crisis (or lack of), death, meaning of life, purpose of life, hedonism, philosophy.
    Cartoon reference number: a096
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  • Cartoon about morality and ethics. An angel and a devil on one’s shoulders

    morality cartoon - devil and angel on shoulders

    Ethics cartoon. Morality cartoon.

    Cartoon about morality and ethics. A man with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other.

    The devil in the cartoon has thrown his trident and killed the angel.
    A variation on the idea that the devil has all the best tunes.
    A cartoon about the battle between good and evil, philosophy.
    Cartoon reference number: a094
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  • A cartoon about identity. A person wearing a mask. Is the face behind the mask a mask too?

    the mask behind the mask cartoon

    A cartoon about identity.

    Cartoon about identity and masks – person wearing a mask, with the face behind the mask being the same as the mask itself

    Cartoon about masks. The joke in the cartoon is that the face behind the mask is exactly the same as the mask. Is it a mask itself? It’s ambiguous.
    A cartoon about hidden identities, the subconscious, personality projection, true self, anonymity, psychology, psychiatry, alternative identities.
    Cartoon reference number: a091
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  • Happiness cartoon – the pursuit of happiness

    Cartoon - the pursuit of happiness

    Happiness cartoon. The pursuit of happiness

    Happiness cartoon – the pursuit of happiness. Showing a person chasing party balloons like a donkey pursuing a carrot on a stick.

    Happiness cartoon.
    The cartoon illustrates people’s innate desire to pursue happiness.
    The cartoon illustrates the concept that happiness is transient and can’t be grasped and kept permanently (symbolised by the idea of grabbing and hanging onto the party balloons in the illustration).
    The cartoon depicts the pursuit of happiness as a motivation for people doing things.
    A cartoon about people’s expectations of happiness, the elusiveness of happiness, the search for happiness, the pursuit of happiness, thwarted expectations, motivation, sense of discontentment, motivational activities.
    Cartoon reference number: a090

  • Cartoon about death. The grim reaper approaching

    Cartoon. The figure of death approaching

    Cartoon about death and the grim reaper.

    Cartoon about death and the grim reaper. The grim reaper approaching some people who are trying to avoid him – but they are getting older and slower and won’t be able to outrun him for long.

    A cartoon about mortality, death, time running out, intimations of mortality, old age.
    Cartoon reference number: a088

    There’s another version of this cartoon here.

  • Cartoon. Eternal life – would it be heaven or hell?

    Eternal life a -fate worse than death

    Cartoon about eternal life’s down side.

    Eternal life cartoon.

    A cartoon about immortality, life after death, heaven, hell, philosophy, religion.
    Cartoon reference number: a087

  • Cartoon. Educational books for children: ‘ The Bumper Book of Wonder’ & ‘My First Book of Disillusionment’

    cartoon - my first book of disillusionment

    Cartoon showing an eager child reading a book titled ‘The Bumper Book of Wonder’. Near the child is a book that will be read in the future, called ‘My First Book of Disillusionment’

    Child development cartoon showing an eager child reading a book titled ‘The Bumper Book of Wonder’. Near the child is a book he will read in the future, called ‘My First Book of Disillusionment’

    A cartoon about growing up and loss of innocence, acquisition of knowledge, epistomology, epistemology.
    Cartoon reference number: a084
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  • Religion cartoon. Do religious people see the universe as a “God shaped whole”?

    god shaped whole cartoon

    Religion cartoon, showing two bishops talking. One is saying that he thinks of the universe as a “god shaped whole” (a word play on the usual expression, God shaped hole.

    Cartoon showing a bishop saying that he thinks of the universe as a “God shaped whole”.
    This is a pun on the usual saying that people feel a “God shaped hole”.

    By the way, I have no religious convictions myself. I’m very much an atheist. This cartoon is meant as an illustration of how people with a strong religious faith think, not how I think.
    Cartoon reference number: a077
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  • Illustration. A walking brain

    walking brain illustration

    Cartoon/illustration. A walking brian with legs and a head

    Cartoon/illustration. A walking brian with legs and a head

    I’m not sure what this drawing means. I suppose it’s something to do with the importance of the human brain’s contribution to what it means to be human. I don’t really know – it just popped into my head.
    It’s probably a cartoon about psychiatry, neuroscience, neurology, how the mind works, how the brain works, cognition, the self.
    Cartoon reference number: a071
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  • Roy Lichtenstein cartoon parody on the search for meaning to life

    roy lichtenstein cartoon

    A cartoon parody of a Roy Lichtenstein painting.

    Roy Lichtenstein’s art lends itself very well to parody and spoof in cartoons, not least because the paintings themselves are often almost direct copies of images lifted from the pages of comic books.

    A Roy Lichtenstein style parody illustration on the subject of the meaning of life, the search for meaning, philosophy, existentialism, existentialist angst, what’s the meaning of life?.
    Cartoon reference number: a065
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  • Cartoon. Western businessman seeking the meaning of life (in half an hour)

    Meaning of life cartoon important meeting

    Cartoon depicting a western businessman visiting an eastern guru to try to find the meaning of life. He wants the answer quickly, because he is very busy and is short of time.

    This is possibly a cartoon criticising the emptiness of western capitalist consumerist society. Having said that, I’m not a follower of eastern (or any other) mystical or spiritual societies either!

    The humour in the cartoon is related to the fact that the businessman expects the answer to his difficult question in a very short time – possibly because the businessman is used to his minions and advisors giving him information in bite-sized chunks and in over-simplified and un-nuanced form.
    It is a cartoon about the materially rich, time-poor nature of modern capitalist society, and about the expectation that life should be easy, with any answers instantly available.
    Cartoon reference number: a052

  • Cartoon showing a procession of people following each other in a circle

    cartoon following each other in circle

    Cartoon showing a procession of people following each other in a circle.

    A cartoon that is possibly about lack of leadership and lack of direction within groups, or on a larger social scale possibly about inward looking insular societies, restrictive religious, social or cultural traditions that stifle thought and progress.

    A cartoon about leadership, followers, leaders, following like sheep, insularity, conservatism, orthodoxy, narrow mindedness.

    Cartoon reference number: a051
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  • Obituary cartoon. Combative atheist Christopher Hitchens dies

    atheist-in-heaven-christopher-hitchens-dies cartoon

    This is a reworking of a popular cartoon of mine on the subject of atheism to mark the death of Christopher Hitchens, polemicist, contrarian, combative atheist.

    In case there’s any doubt, I’m an atheist myself. This is a joke – it does not indicate that I believe in Heaven.
    Any pro-Heaven websites or publications that use this cartoon without permission will be chased up and their owners will be asked to pay. Oh, and they’ll be condemned to eternal damnation for cheating. I only mention this because it happens too frequently for my liking.
    Pro-religion websites and publications are more than welcome to use the cartoon as long as they seek permission and pay for the cartoon license, as I actually find religion very interesting but just don’t happen to believe in its tenets.

    Obituary cartoon for Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great and many other diatribes against religion.

    Cartoon drawn: 2011
    Cartoon reference number: hch01

  • Cartoon. Taste, and other aesthetic values, are a matter of circumstance

    Cartoon. Rats looking at decaying food

    Cartoon about taste, both gastronomic and aesthetic. Showing that values and tastes that people (or rats) possess are dependant on circumstances, context and so on, and are not fixed or absolute.

    Cartoon showing rats looking at a discarded, decaying, rotting piece of food covered with flies and thinking that it looks delicious and attractive. In such circumstances we as humans would be subject to the gag reflex or wretch reaction.
    Cartoon reference number: rat131

  • Philosophy cartoons about consciousness – “I think therefore I am”

    Philosophy cartoon. I think therefore I am

    Philosophy cartoon
    Cartoon about consciousness and solipsism

    A cartoon showing a man inside a thought bubble (or thought balloon). The illustration is about the concept that through consciousness man is aware of himself. This man in some ways ‘thinks himself into existence’

    A cartoon about self awareness, Descartes saying “I thing therefore I am” or “Cogito ergo sum”, cognition, philosophy, philosophical thought.

    The cartoon is about solipsism – the philosophical concept that the mind can only be aware of its own existence and not the existence of anything else. Solipsism is an epistemological position that holds that the external world cannot be known, and that other minds cannot be known, and that such things might not exist outside the mind that is thinking about them
    Cartoon drawn: 2011
    Cartoon reference number: phi21
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  • Philosophy cartoon about consciousness

    Cartoon about consciousness - eyes in thought bubble

    Philosophy cartoon
    Cartoon about consciousness

    A cartoon showing a man with a thought bubble (or thought balloon) that has eyes and is looking at the man. The illustration is about the concept that through consciousness man is aware of himself (self aware) and is aware of his own existence

    A cartoon about Rene Descartes saying “I thing therefore I am” or “Cogito ergo sum”, cognition, philosophy, philosophical thought, self awareness and solipsism
    Cartoon reference number: phi31
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  • Philosophy and psychology illustration. Man burdened by questions

    Illustration. Man dragging question mark, burdened by questions

    Philosophy cartoon or illustration
    A man carrying a huge question mark, burdened by questions

    A cartoon showing a man struggling to carry a huge, cumbersome question mark on his back. The dot of the question mark is a ball and chain attached to his ankle.
    This is a cartoon about the burden that some people feel concerning questions about life, death, morality, existence, purpose, religion, spirituality, the meaning of life and so on

    The fact that most of these questions are unanswerable can be something of a burden to some people depending on their psychological makeup.
    Socrates said “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
    This illustration suggests that it’s possible to overdo the questioning.
    The burden of some questions are possibly a reason that some people turn to religion for answers, as religions claim to be able to answer the unanswerable questions

    Drawn: February 2011
    Cartoon reference number: que25
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