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Single Idea 12170
[filed under theme 1. Philosophy / D. Nature of Philosophy / 8. Humour
]
Full Idea
There are three common accounts of amusement: superiority theories (Hobbes's 'sudden glory'), 'relief from restraint' (Freud on jokes), and 'incongruity' theories (Schopenhauer).
Gist of Idea
Amusement rests on superiority, or relief, or incongruity
Source
Roger Scruton (Laughter [1982], §5)
Book Ref
Scruton,Roger: 'The Aesthetic Understanding' [Methuen 1983], p.156
A Reaction
All three contain some truth. But one need not feel superior to laugh, and one may already be in a state of unrestraint. Schopenhauer seems closest to a good general account.
The
15 ideas
with the same theme
[explaining the nature and sources of what is funny]:
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7494
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Laughter is mad; of mirth, what doeth it?
[Anon (Ecc)]
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8767
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Sorrow is better than laughter
[Anon (Ecc)]
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6211
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Laughter is a sudden glory in realising the infirmity of others, or our own formerly
[Hobbes]
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12171
|
Absurdity is incongruity between correct and false points of view
[Schopenhauer]
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22047
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Wherever there is painless contradiction there is also comedy
[Kierkegaard]
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14833
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Comedy is a transition from fear to exuberance
[Nietzsche]
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18303
|
Reject wisdom that lacks laughter
[Nietzsche]
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12318
|
The female body, when taken in its entirety, is the Phallus itself
[Badiou]
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12169
|
Since only men laugh, it seems to be an attribute of reason
[Scruton]
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12170
|
Amusement rests on superiority, or relief, or incongruity
[Scruton]
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12172
|
Objects of amusement do not have to be real
[Scruton]
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12173
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The central object of amusement is the human
[Scruton]
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6848
|
Humour is practically enacted philosophy
[Critchley]
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6847
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Humour can give a phenomenological account of existence, and point to change
[Critchley]
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22701
|
Jokes can sometimes be funny because they are offensive
[Jacobson,D]
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