Comic relief : a comprehensive philosophy of humor /
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| Author / Creator: | Morreall, John, 1947- |
|---|---|
| Imprint: | Chichester, U.K. ; Malden, MA : Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. |
| Description: | xii, 187 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. |
| Language: | English |
| Series: | New directions in aesthetics ; 9 New directions in aesthetics ; 9. |
| Subject: | |
| Format: | Print Book |
| URL for this record: | http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/8380348 |
Table of Contents:
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1. No Laughing Matter: The Traditional Rejection of Humor and Traditional Theories of Humor
- Humor, Anarchy, and Aggression
- The Superiority Theory: Humor as Anti-social
- The Incongruity Theory: Humor as Irrational
- The Relief Theory: Humor as a Pressure Valve
- The Minority Opinion of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas: Humor as Playful Relaxation
- The Relaxation Theory of Robert Latta
- 2. Fight or Flight - or Laughter: The Psychology of Humor
- Humor and Disengagement
- Humor as Play
- Laughter as a Play Signal
- 3. From Lucy to "I Love Lucy": The Evolution of Humor
- What Was First Funny?
- The Basic Pattern in Humor: The Playful Enjoyment of a Cognitive Shift Is Expressed in Laughter
- The Worth of Mirth
- 4. That Mona Lisa Smile: The Aesthetics of Humor
- Humor as Aesthetic Experience
- Humor and Other Ways of Enjoying Cognitive Shifts: The Funny, Tragic, Grotesque, Macabre, Horrible, Bizarre, and Fantastic
- Tragedy vs. Comedy: Is Heavy Better than Light?
- Enough with the Jokes: Spontaneous vs. Prepared Humor
- 5. Laughing at the Wrong Time: The Negative Ethics of Humor
- Eight Traditional Moral Objections
- The Shortcomings in the Contemporary Ethics of Humor
- A More Comprehensive Approach: The Ethics of Disengagement
- First Harmful Effect: Irresponsibility
- Second Harmful Effect: Blocking Compassion
- Third Harmful Effect: Promoting Prejudice
- 6. Having a Good Laugh: The Positive Ethics of Humor
- Intellectual Virtues Fostered by Humor
- Moral Virtues Fostered by Humor
- Humor during the Holocaust
- 7. Homo Sapiens and Homo Ridens: Philosophy and Comedy
- Was Socrates the First Stand-up Comedian?
- Humor and the Existentialists
- The Laughing Buddha
- 8. The Glass Is Half-Empty and Half-Full: Comic Wisdom
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
