Humour in Philosophy

For all things philosophical.

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uwot
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by uwot »

So anyway; Zeno walks half way into a bar.
ForCruxSake
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by ForCruxSake »

Strikes me that laughter gets a bit of a bad press in the classical age.

Some saw it as a imbalance of the four humours, an uncontrollable spasm, not unlike weird spasms caused by madness. Plato saw it as a destruction to the self, a consequence of its being the product of an emotion that would override rational self- control and learning. He believed comedy should be kept under a tight rein in order to achieve the ideal state, and said in The Republic, that the guardians of the commonwealth should avoid laughter, "for ordinarily when one abandons himself to violent laughter, his condition provokes a violent reaction." What a grump!

Aristotle was a bit more enthusiastic about Comedy, which he discussed in Poetics. It was the poorer sibling to the finer art of Tragedy. Having risen from vulgar roots, it "had no history, because it was not at first treated seriously." ...."But when Tragedy and Comedy came to light.... the lampooners became writers of Comedy, and the Epic poets were succeeded by Tragedians, since the drama was a larger and higher form of art." (Clearly they all loved to see the fallen hero, more than a clown, as the bulk of Poetics bangs on about epic poetry and tragic drama.)

"Comedy is...", he says, "an imitation of characters of a lower type- not, however, in the full sense of the word bad, the ludicrous being merely a subdivision of the ugly. It consists in some defect or ugliness which is not painful or destructive." So no beauty in comedy but no pain or absolute destruction either.

When he lauds Homer "for he alone combined dramatic form with excellence of imitation so he too first laid down the main lines of comedy, by dramatizing the ludicrous instead of writing personal satire. His Margites bears the same relation to comedy that the Iliad and Odyssey do to tragedy." he could have been writing a review for The (Ancient) Times, and is saying that "dramatising the ludicrous" is a better use of comedy than "personal satire".

I think Aristotle appreciated comedy. It made people happy, which for Aristotle was the ideal state. Where Tragedy was about the fall of tragic hero, Comedy became about the fortunate rise of a sympathetic character. As long as there was a happy ending It fulfilled its purpose in creating joy.

Lecture over. Time for another gag?
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Hobbes' Choice
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by Hobbes' Choice »

I am determined to say something funny about free will, but I don't think it will have the effect I'm hoping to cause.
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A_Seagull
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by A_Seagull »

Hobbes' Choice wrote:I am determined to say something funny about free will, but I don't think it will have the effect I'm hoping to cause.
Ha ha!!

I laugh at the logical tangle!
Walker
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by Walker »

Hobbes' Choice wrote:I am determined to say something funny about free will, but I don't think it will have the effect I'm hoping to cause.
The fact that no one would choose to think of such things proves there is no choice for those who do.
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Hobbes' Choice
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by Hobbes' Choice »

A_Seagull wrote:
Hobbes' Choice wrote:I am determined to say something funny about free will, but I don't think it will have the effect I'm hoping to cause.
Ha ha!!

I laugh at the logical tangle!
Is that freely or determinedly?
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Hobbes' Choice
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by Hobbes' Choice »

Walker wrote:
Hobbes' Choice wrote:I am determined to say something funny about free will, but I don't think it will have the effect I'm hoping to cause.
The fact that no one would choose to think of such things proves there is no choice for those who do.
I don't understand what the 'fact" is here?
uwot
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by uwot »

Just remembered a loosely philosophical joke, courtesy of Emo Phillips. He says he used to pray for a bike, when he was little. Then he figured out how god works. So he stole a bicycle and prayed for forgiveness.
Walker
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by Walker »

uwot wrote:Just remembered a loosely philosophical joke, courtesy of Emo Phillips. He says he used to pray for a bike, when he was little. Then he figured out how god works. So he stole a bicycle and prayed for forgiveness.
That's funny.
Walker
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by Walker »

Hobbes' Choice wrote:
Walker wrote:
Hobbes' Choice wrote:I am determined to say something funny about free will, but I don't think it will have the effect I'm hoping to cause.
The fact that no one would choose to think of such things proves there is no choice for those who do.
I don't understand what the 'fact" is here?
The word is choice, not hope.
Don't worry, there is hope for those who do.
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Hobbes' Choice
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by Hobbes' Choice »

Walker wrote:
Hobbes' Choice wrote:
Walker wrote: The fact that no one would choose to think of such things proves there is no choice for those who do.
I don't understand what the 'fact" is here?
The word is choice, not hope.
Don't worry, there is hope for those who do.
Dumb de dumb.
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A_Seagull
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by A_Seagull »

Hobbes' Choice wrote:
A_Seagull wrote:
Hobbes' Choice wrote:I am determined to say something funny about free will, but I don't think it will have the effect I'm hoping to cause.
Ha ha!!

I laugh at the logical tangle!
Is that freely or determinedly?
Your choice!
Walker
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by Walker »

Hobbes' Choice wrote:
Walker wrote:
Hobbes' Choice wrote:
I don't understand what the 'fact" is here?
The word is choice, not hope.
Don't worry, there is hope for those who do.
Dumb de dumb.
That one falls flat on its face, but even before that, it was beneath you.

Sometimes the next phase of that condition can progress to barnyard grunts, so remember 4 legs bad, 2 legs good, 3 legs unusual.

Here’s a favorite old chestnut.

A tourist from the city passed a farmhouse and saw a pig with a wooden leg. He went to the farmer and asked him about the pig.

The farmer said, "Oh, this is a great pig! There's no pig like him anywhere! Once, when I was plowing a field, the tractor tipped over and pinned my leg to the ground. This pig saw me and went to the house to get my wife. He saved my life!

"Another time, my wife and I were asleep in the house when a fire started. This pig woke us up and got us out of the house before it burned down. He saved me again! He's a wonderful pig!"

"But you didn't tell us how he got the wooden leg," said the tourist.

"Oh," said the farmer, "a pig like that, you don't eat all at once!"
ForCruxSake
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by ForCruxSake »

Walker wrote:
Hobbes' Choice wrote:
Walker wrote: The word is choice, not hope.
Don't worry, there is hope for those who do.
Dumb de dumb.
That one falls flat on its face, but even before that, it was beneath you.

Sometimes the next phase of that condition can progress to barnyard grunts, so remember 4 legs bad, 2 legs good, 3 legs unusual.

Here’s a favorite old chestnut.

A tourist from the city passed a farmhouse and saw a pig with a wooden leg. He went to the farmer and asked him about the pig.

The farmer said, "Oh, this is a great pig! There's no pig like him anywhere! Once, when I was plowing a field, the tractor tipped over and pinned my leg to the ground. This pig saw me and went to the house to get my wife. He saved my life!

"Another time, my wife and I were asleep in the house when a fire started. This pig woke us up and got us out of the house before it burned down. He saved me again! He's a wonderful pig!"

"But you didn't tell us how he got the wooden leg," said the tourist.

"Oh," said the farmer, "a pig like that, you don't eat all at once!"
This had me laughing out so loud that, when I came out of the spasm attack of hysteria, I wondered if I should bill your physician for the hernia it caused! :D
Walker
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Re: Humour in Philosophy

Post by Walker »

:)

Wise Man - Are you the famous Sir Hillary who climbed the highest mountain?

Sir Hillary - Yes.

Wise Man - Why did you climb the mountain?

Sir Hillary - Because it was there.

Wise Man - Don’t go to the beach.

(Credit: Wizard of Id)
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