• I Laugh Because it's Absurd: Humor as Error Detection

    Author(s):
    Chris A. Kramer (see profile)
    Date:
    2021
    Group(s):
    Analytic Philosophy, Film-Philosophy, Historical theory and the philosophy of history, Philosophy, Public Philosophy Journal
    Subject(s):
    Ethics, Wit and humor, Education, Logic, Philosophy
    Item Type:
    Book chapter
    Tag(s):
    Humor, Epistemology, Humor studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/p498-xe14
    Abstract:
    This chapter will focus on the overlap and benefits of a humorous and philosophical attitude toward the world and our place in it. The first part of this chapter’s title borrows from Kierkegaard and before him the Christian apologist Turtullian, who once quipped about the central contradictory tenets of Christianity, in putatively ironic fashion, “I believe because it is absurd.” The idea that we laugh at absurdity, contradictions, or an incongruity between the way we thought the world was and how we now recognize it actually is, goes back at least to Arthur Schopenhauer. Very often when we discover a mistake in reasoning, a fallacy, we laugh. This is interesting. Contradiction, inconsistency, irrationality, absurdity, nonsense, ridiculousness, repugnance, fallacy, etc., are some terms philosophers have used to refer to instances of poor reasoning. They are also concepts useful in analyzing why laughter often accompanies fault-finding endeavors. The historian of philosophy Will Durant tells us that genuine philosophy begins when one learns to doubt; we can say something similar with humor-trust me.
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Book chapter     Show details
    Publisher:
    Lighthearted Open Access
    Pub. Date:
    2021
    Book Title:
    It\'s Funny \'Cause It\'s True: The Lighthearted Philosophers Society\'s Introduction to Philosophy through Humor
    Author/Editor:
    Jennifer Marra Henrigillis and Steven Gimbel (eds.)
    Page Range:
    82 - 93
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    2 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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