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Comic Relief
A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor
"Of all of the humor scholars I know, John Morreall is the best at making original, fascinating, and useful observations. We should all be grateful that in Comic Relief he has once more demonstrated--in his witty and accessible style--that the play ethic is as important as the work ethic." "Comic Relief is an engaging, wide-ranging discussion of how humor is defined within the disciplines of philosophy and history, as well as a brilliant and comprehensive overview of how it is used today. This book is a superb addition to the body of genuinely important works on humor."
–Don L. F. Nilsen, International Society for Humor Studies
–Regina Barreca, University of Connecticut
John Morreall (Author)
9781405196123, Wiley
Hardback, published 4 September 2009
208 pages
22.8 x 14.6 x 1.6 cm, 0.431 kg
"As an intelligent treatment of what humor is and what it means, this work raises significant questions and proposes plausible answers." (CHOICE, September 2010)
Comic Relief: A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor develops an inclusive theory that integrates psychological, aesthetic, and ethical issues relating to humor
Foreword ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii 1 No Laughing Matter: The Traditional Rejection of Humor and Traditional Theories of Humor 1 Humor, Anarchy, and Aggression 2 The Superiority Theory: Humor as Anti-social 4 The Incongruity Theory: Humor as Irrational 9 The Relief Theory: Humor as a Pressure Valve 15 The Minority Opinion of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas: Humor as Playful Relaxation 23 The Relaxation Theory of Robert Latta 24 2 Fight or Flight – or Laughter: The Psychology of Humor 27 Humor and Disengagement 28 Humor as Play 33 Laughter as a Play Signal 36 3 From Lucy to “I Love Lucy”: The Evolution of Humor 40 What Was First Funny? 41 The Basic Pattern in Humor: The Playful Enjoyment of a Cognitive Shift is Expressed in Laughter 49 The Worth of Mirth 64 4 That Mona Lisa Smile: The Aesthetics of Humor 69 Humor as Aesthetic Experience 70 Humor and Other Ways of Enjoying Cognitive Shifts: The Funny, Tragic, Grotesque, Macabre, Horrible, Bizarre, and Fantastic 73 Tragedy vs. Comedy: Is Heavy Better than Light? 75 Enough with the Jokes: Spontaneous vs. Prepared Humor 83 5 Laughing at the Wrong Time: The Negative Ethics of Humor 90 Eight Traditional Moral Objections 91 The Shortcomings in the Contemporary Ethics of Humor 98 A More Comprehensive Approach: The Ethics of Disengagement 101 First Harmful Effect: Irresponsibility 102 Second Harmful Effect: Blocking Compassion 103 Third Harmful Effect: Promoting Prejudice 105 6 Having a Good Laugh: The Positive Ethics of Humor 111 Intellectual Virtues Fostered by Humor 112 Moral Virtues Fostered by Humor 115 Humor during the Holocaust 119 7 Homo Sapiens and Homo Ridens: Philosophy and Comedy 125 Was Socrates the First Stand-up Comedian? 126 Humor and the Existentialists 129 The Laughing Buddha 133 8 The Glass is Half-Empty and Half-Full: Comic Wisdom 139 Notes 146 Bibliography 160 Index 179
Robert Mankoff
Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP]
