Rating: 
Summary: This book and the show are definitely about something
Review: Here's the premise; take an immensely popular show and capitalize on it by writing a series of essays on philosophy and slapping a Seinfeld photo on the cover? Nope, it's much more than that. This book is very interesting, and very well done. I had several moments when reading where the correlation between the show and the philosophical concept was so direct that it is either a remarkable coincidence, or was actually written that way.
For example, philosopher Jean Paul Sartre's play "No Exit" offers an account of three characters in hell, who are imprisoned together in a room. They are sentenced to stay awake and in that room with one another for eternity. (Page 105). His thesis is that we are defined by others. Compare this to the unique end of the show where Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine are found guilty of violating a "Good Samaritan" law. Their punishment; sentenced to spend a year in a cell together.
How often do you get serious discussions about the philosophical foundations of the "Castanza Maneuver", or how Socrates and Kramer may share some of the same philosophical focus? When you can combine Plato and Elaine Bennes in the same book that is saying something. The book itself is a series of essays. Some of these are fabulous, some a bit of a stretch, but the overall effect is that the reader is exposed to countless philosophical concepts that may be otherwise unknown to many Seinfeld viewers. If the popularity of the show can help deepen the thinking of a few, then that is worthwhile.
While the title suggests a light fare, the book is anything but that. In all honesty, had the book not been divided into rather short chapters that could be read one at a time, I may not have made it through. The concepts are actually often quite deep, a stark contrast to the easy to digest commonality of the show. Where the book gets the biggest hit is in the discussion of the fact that the show is actually about everything, not nothing.
A fun read for Seinfeld fans and anyone who would like a quick introduction to some of the most highly regarded philosophical minds in history. Combine this with a discussion of whether a chicken salad on rye is really the opposite of tuna on toast, and you have a winner.
Rating: 
Summary: Deserves a Sequel
Review: I enjoyed reading "Seinfeld and Philosophy." Discussing the most popular television sitcom from the perspective of philosophy was a great idea. Unfortunately, the result fell far short of my expectations. This is a book that could have been written by William J. Bennett. A majority of the chapters read like "The Book of Virtues." The authors rely too heavily on classical sources (Plato, Aristotle). If "Seinfeld" is about anything, it is about the ironies, absurdities, and chaos of postmodern life. Yet there is no mention at all of French post-structuralists or postmodernists (Barthes, Foucault, Derrida, Lyotard, Baudrillard) and very little mention of their German and Austrian predecessors (Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Heidegger, Wittgenstein). Only Chapter 7 (Sartre) and Chapter 10 (Lacan, Zizek) relate to ideas developed within the lifetimes of contemporary readers. I wish that the authors would write a sequel to this book incorporating more ideas from nineteenth and twentieth century continental philosophers.Throughout its history, philosophy has performed the important function of liberating people from the shackles of conventional ideologies, both religious and political. It was therefore disappointing (although perhaps not surprising) that all of the republican candidates in the 2000 presidential primary contest said that their favorite philosopher was Jesus. Not that there is anything wrong with Jesus. But there is something wrong with the kind of herd mentality displayed by American politicians (the democrats would have done the same thing). American philosophy is extremely anachronistic, mired as it is in a combination of analytic nitpicking and eighteenth century dogma concerning the sanctity of property rights. It is a credit to the authors of "Seinfeld and Philosophy" that they do not burden their readers with longwinded discussions of Frege, Russell, Ayer, and Quine or of Locke, Burke, Madison, and Hayek. But it is a shame that they left out the best contemporary philosophers that America has to offer: Woody Allen, Randy Newman, George Carlin, Michael Moore, and Garrison Keillor. In the sequel, the authors should consider turning their analysis on its head (as Marx did with Hegel) by treating Seinfeld as the philosopher and America as the sitcom.
Rating:
Summary: A great book from philosophers for philosophers.
Review: I hope you find my review helpful. I know that most of the people who read the negative reviews avoid them. So, this is not negative, but I would like to say that if you are truly a philosophy fan, then you will enjoy this book. I am a seinfeld fan, but not a philosophy fan. So, I unfornatately find this book boring. As a seinfeld fan, I like how they analyze the Seinfeld characters and they got Kramer down to a tee. However, it seems to dissect the characters too much. You may like the theory about Aristotle's analysis about George Costanza. I don't care for that. So, all I am saying is that if you like Seinfeld and philosophy, definitely buy this book. If you are just a Seinfeld fan, do not buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: A book about nothing- is actually something!
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. I am still getting through some of the chapters-but I did find the ones by William Irwin to be particularly interesting. Who knew that the show "Seinfeld" was so deep? I also applaud Irwin for writing this book- it is a good way for students to learn about philosopy by keeping the topics current and interesting. Everyone should read this book whether you are a philosopher or mere mortal.
Rating: 
Summary: There's something wrong with that.
Review: I suspect that the four and five star reviews below were written by the author(s) of this book under assumed aliases.
There are some decent introductions to basic philosophical concepts here, but the writing is so inconsistent, juvenile, and painfully unfunny...
The book could also use some editing (didn't anybody notice that each contributing author used the phrase "yada yada yada"?)
The opening essay by the book's editor compares Jerry to Socrates. And there are some funny, real paralells, which make it easier to digest the Socratic tenets imbued. But three contributing writers proceed to draw profiles of the other three main characters--and they are all painful stretches, as are most of the connections between Seinfeld and philosophy in this book. Further, most of the writers try to be funny, and they rarely are.
Rating:
Summary: The best Seinfeld book on the market!
Review: I was hesitant about this book because I don't know anything about philosophy, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Seinfeld and Philosophy not only has more details and insight about Seinfeld than the other books on the show but I actually learned something about philosophy too. I'd recommend this book to any fan of the show. In fact it's one of the best books I've read in years!
Rating:
Summary: There's something wrong with that.
Review: If you are not overly familiar with some of the different philosophers and their work, then you may want to take a look at this book. This is a collection of essays explaining different philosophers by using the well-known TV show Seinfeld. The result, for me, was a much better understanding of different philosophical topics. The different essays cover the different philosophers like Socrates, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Wittgenstein. Using the famous characters from the TV show, the authors illustrate the different philosophers. If school was a little fuzzy on the explanation, this is a good supplement. Because it is a collection, most of the authors used the same episode to refer to. I do wish they used more episodes, but "The Opposite" is a well-known episode. Also, a couple of the essays give different impressions of Kramer. Although this feels contradictory, the book is not meant to read as one work. I would recommend this book to anyone who does not feel assured of his or her understanding of philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: A good illustration
Review: If you are not overly familiar with some of the different philosophers and their work, then you may want to take a look at this book. This is a collection of essays explaining different philosophers by using the well-known TV show Seinfeld. The result, for me, was a much better understanding of different philosophical topics. The different essays cover the different philosophers like Socrates, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Wittgenstein. Using the famous characters from the TV show, the authors illustrate the different philosophers. If school was a little fuzzy on the explanation, this is a good supplement. Because it is a collection, most of the authors used the same episode to refer to. I do wish they used more episodes, but "The Opposite" is a well-known episode. Also, a couple of the essays give different impressions of Kramer. Although this feels contradictory, the book is not meant to read as one work. I would recommend this book to anyone who does not feel assured of his or her understanding of philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: Author must be brilliant and/or have a brilliant mother.!
Review: Interesting analogies about everything Seinfeld and everything philosopical. I enjoyed recalling so many of my undergraduate philosophy courses {and I really needed to jog my memory some 30 years back). It is inspiring to know that philosophers like Dr.Irwin are real people with a great sense of humor as well as brains in their head.But,that's enough about nothing!I am looking forward to the author's next endeavor.
Rating:
Summary: What A Great Idea!
Review: It was my curiosity about the concept of such a book that initially led me to purchase this book. Being such a big fan of the show, I immediately saw a connection. Seinfeld is an excellent case study for philosophy. You could do a whole book on George alone. Like most case studies though, it is tough to find a 100% match to the underlying theories and models, but book does a great job in using the TV show to understand the wide range of philosophical topics discussed, and its a relatively easy read. My knowledge of philosophy is limitted to a couple of courses required in college many moons ago. Overall, I was delighted with the opprtunity the book provided me to refresh and re-discover philosophy.
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