Why Can't Philosophers Laugh?

Why Can't Philosophers Laugh? PDF Author: Katrin Froese
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319550446
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
This book analyzes Western and Chinese philosophical texts to determine why laughter and the comic have not been a major part of philosophical discourse. Katrin Froese maintains that many philosophical accounts of laughter try to unearth laughter's purpose, thereby rendering it secondary to the intentional and purposive aspects of human nature that impel us to philosophize. Froese also considers texts that take laughter and the comic as starting points, attempting to philosophize out of laughter rather than merely trying to unearth reasons for laughter. The book proposes that continuously unraveling philosophical assumptions through the comic and laughter may be necessary to live well.

Why Can't Philosophers Laugh?

Why Can't Philosophers Laugh? PDF Author: Katrin Froese
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319550446
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book analyzes Western and Chinese philosophical texts to determine why laughter and the comic have not been a major part of philosophical discourse. Katrin Froese maintains that many philosophical accounts of laughter try to unearth laughter's purpose, thereby rendering it secondary to the intentional and purposive aspects of human nature that impel us to philosophize. Froese also considers texts that take laughter and the comic as starting points, attempting to philosophize out of laughter rather than merely trying to unearth reasons for laughter. The book proposes that continuously unraveling philosophical assumptions through the comic and laughter may be necessary to live well.

Laughter, Humor, and Comedy in Ancient Philosophy

Laughter, Humor, and Comedy in Ancient Philosophy PDF Author: Pierre Destrée
Publisher:
ISBN: 0190460547
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Ancient philosophers were very interested in questions about laughter, humor and comedy. They theorized about laughter and its causes, moralized about the appropriate uses of humor and what it is appropriate to laugh at, and wrote treaties on comedic composition. This volume explores themes that were important for ancient philosophers: the psychology of laughter, the ethical and social norms governing laughter and humor, and the philosophical uses of humor and comedic technique.

Nietzsche's Moral Psychology

Nietzsche's Moral Psychology PDF Author: Mark Alfano
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107074150
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Examines Nietzsche's thinking on the virtues using a combination of close reading and digital analysis.

The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor

The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor PDF Author: John Morreall
Publisher: Suny Press
ISBN:
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
This book assesses the adequacy of the traditional theories of laughter and humor, suggests revised theories, and explores such areas as the aesthetics and ethics of humor, and the relation of amusement to other mental states. Theories of laughter and humor originated in ancient times with the view that laughter is an expression of feelings of superiority over another person. This superiority theory was held by Plato, Aristotle, and Hobbes. Another aspect of laughter, noted by Aristotle and Cicero and neglected until Kant and Schopenhauer developed it into the incongruity theory, is that laughter is often a reaction to the perception of some incongruity. According to the third and latest traditional theory, the relief theory of Herbert Spencer and Freud, laughter is the venting of superfluous nervous energy. Historical examples of all these theories are presented along with hybrid theories such as those of Descartes and Bergson. The book also features traditional explorations of the place of humor in aesthetics, drama, and literature. This is the first work in the last fifty years to include the classic sources in the philosophy of humor and the first to present theories by contemporary philosophers.

Laughter

Laughter PDF Author: Henri Bergson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Comedy
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description


Sensus Communis

Sensus Communis PDF Author: Anthony Ashley Cooper Earl of Shaftesbury
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Wit and humor
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description


The Book of Dead Philosophers

The Book of Dead Philosophers PDF Author: Simon Critchley
Publisher: Melbourne Univ. Publishing
ISBN: 0522855148
Category : Death
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Diogenes died by holding his breath. Plato allegedly died of a lice infestation. Diderot choked to death on an apricot. Nietzsche made a long, soft-brained and dribbling descent into oblivion after kissing a horse in Turin. From the self-mocking haikus of Zen masters on their deathbeds to the last words (gasps) of modern-day sages, The Book of Dead Philosophers chronicles the deaths of almost 200 philosophers-tales of weirdness, madness, suicide, murder, pathos and bad luck. In this elegant and amusing book, Simon Critchley argues that the question of what constitutes a 'good death' has been the central preoccupation of philosophy since ancient times. As he brilliantly demonstrates, looking at what the great thinkers have said about death inspires a life-affirming enquiry into the meaning and possibility of human happiness. In learning how to die, we learn how to live.

Philosophy, Humor, and the Human Condition

Philosophy, Humor, and the Human Condition PDF Author: Lydia Amir
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030326713
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
This book presents an original worldview, Homo risibilis, wherein self-referential humor is proposed as the path leading from a tragic view of life to a liberating embrace of human ridicule. Humor is presented as a conceptual tool for holding together contradictions and managing the unresolvable conflict of the human condition till Homo risibilis resolves the inherent tension without epistemological cost. This original approach to the human condition allows us to effectively address life’s ambiguities without losing sight of its tragic overtones and brings along far-ranging personal and social benefits. By defining the problem that other philosophies and many religions attempt to solve in terms we can all relate to, Homo risibilis enables an understanding of the Other that surpasses mere tolerance. Its egalitarian vision roots an ethic of compassion without requiring metaphysical or religious assumptions and liberates the individual for action on others’ behalf. It offers a new model of rationality which effectively handles and eventually resolves the tension between oneself, others, and the world at large. Amir’s view of the human condition transcends the field of philosophy of humor. An original worldview that fits the requirements of traditional philosophy, Homo risibilis is especially apt to answer contemporary concerns. It embodies the minimal consensus we need in order to live together and the active role philosophy should responsibly play in a global world. Here developed for the first time in a complete way, the Homo risibilis worldview is not only liberating in nature, but also illuminates the shortcomings of other philosophies in their attempts to secure harmony in a disharmonious world for a disharmonious human being.

Mathematics without Apologies

Mathematics without Apologies PDF Author: Michael Harris
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691175837
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
An insightful reflection on the mathematical soul What do pure mathematicians do, and why do they do it? Looking beyond the conventional answers—for the sake of truth, beauty, and practical applications—this book offers an eclectic panorama of the lives and values and hopes and fears of mathematicians in the twenty-first century, assembling material from a startlingly diverse assortment of scholarly, journalistic, and pop culture sources. Drawing on his personal experiences and obsessions as well as the thoughts and opinions of mathematicians from Archimedes and Omar Khayyám to such contemporary giants as Alexander Grothendieck and Robert Langlands, Michael Harris reveals the charisma and romance of mathematics as well as its darker side. In this portrait of mathematics as a community united around a set of common intellectual, ethical, and existential challenges, he touches on a wide variety of questions, such as: Are mathematicians to blame for the 2008 financial crisis? How can we talk about the ideas we were born too soon to understand? And how should you react if you are asked to explain number theory at a dinner party? Disarmingly candid, relentlessly intelligent, and richly entertaining, Mathematics without Apologies takes readers on an unapologetic guided tour of the mathematical life, from the philosophy and sociology of mathematics to its reflections in film and popular music, with detours through the mathematical and mystical traditions of Russia, India, medieval Islam, the Bronx, and beyond.

The Laughing Philosopher

The Laughing Philosopher PDF Author: John Bull
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : English wit and humor
Languages : en
Pages : 782

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Book Description