Published since September 20, 2020

The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook

ISSN: 2698-718X

Editor-in-chief: Lydia Amir

In cooperation with: Pierre Destrée, Steven Gimbel, Christine A. James, John Marmysz, Lauren Olin, Sheila Lintott

About this journal

The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook covers the various intersections of philosophy with humor (and laughter, irony, and the comical), historically and contemporarily, descriptively and prescriptively, seriously and jocularly. It welcomes excellent academic papers of both the analytic and continental traditions, humorous short papers on philosophic topics, contributions that highlight the relevance of humor to philosophic education, and reviews of relevant books.

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Topics

Volume 4 Issue 1

January 2023

Titlepages

Publicly Available September 18, 2023

Titlepages

Page range: I-IV

Download PDF

Publicly Available September 18, 2023

Page range: V-VII

Download PDF

Articles

September 18, 2023

Vico’s Theory of Humor and Laughter

Dustin Peone

Page range: 1-25

Abstract

Giambattista Vico is a philosopher with a deeply tragic sense of life. His theory of the course of nations does not entail a notion of progress. Nations are born, mature, decline, and perish, and the nations that rise in their wake must begin again from barbarism. Nevertheless, Vico has a doctrine of humor and laughter, which he details in a digression within short apologia, the “Vici Vindiciae.” No significant scholarly attention has ever been paid to this digression. In this article, I critically consider Vico’s theory, with the greater intention of situating it in the context of his philosophy as a whole. I demonstrate that Vico’s association of “acute remarks” with the pursuit of truth, and his criticism of “argute remarks,” mockery, and laughter are an extension of his doctrine of the heroic mind. I also discuss the significance of Roman comedy for Vico as philologist.

September 18, 2023

Laughter as Natural Piety: John Dewey, Humor, and the Religious

Jonathan Weidenbaum

Page range: 27-51

Abstract

One topic frequently explored in the philosophy of humor is the relationship of comedy and laughter with other facets of human existence—including theological insight and religious experience. The aim of this essay is to employ the mature thought of John Dewey not only to illuminate the nature of humor, but also to discern the deep source and connection between the spiritually exalting and the funny from a naturalistic perspective. While a number of passages on comedy and humor from Dewey’s later work are addressed, mostly from Art as Experience , they are synthesized with other ideas from this same text along with a few quotes from John Morreall. The focus is then shifted toward the central themes of A Common Faith , Dewey’s proposal for a de-supernaturalized form of the religious life. It is suggested that the humorous and the religious, understood through Dewey’s refined account of experience, disclose a few very important things about our place within the cosmos as a whole—that greatest of contexts in and through which laughter and the spiritual alike acquire their significance. This Deweyan vision is further clarified by way of comparison with Peter Berger’s theological reflections on humor. The controversies over sin and the place of tragedy in Dewey’s religious naturalism are briefly discussed in the conclusion.

September 18, 2023

Understanding Humor: Four Conceptual Approaches to the Elusive Subject

Jarno Hietalahti, Joonas Pennanen

Page range: 53-80

Abstract

This article discusses four ways of understanding the concept of humor: 1) in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions, as 2) a cluster concept, 3) an interpretive concept, and 4) a dual character concept. We peruse both historical and contemporary research on humor, but instead of asking “What is humor?,” we draw conclusions regarding what humor research tells us of the ways to conceptualize humor. The main merits and shortcomings of different approaches are explicated. We suggest that the increased awareness of conceptual options will help the field of humor research to construct ever better theories on the elusive subject matter.

September 18, 2023

Reality Is a Joke

Tristan Burt

Page range: 81-109

Abstract

I argue that the unthought philosophical bias in favor of seriousness and sense rather than nonsense and joking blocks the path to reality. Because of this bias we obsess over significant signs and forget to consider what signs are signs of; we lose sight of the forest because there are so many interesting trees. Through a thoroughgoing interrogation of signs or appearances, we can reveal what it is that all signs present or represent: the underlying real joke. Once the “sensible bias” of philosophy is overcome and the sense of nonsense restored, we can reveal the object of ontology—the Kantian noumenon—and, therefore, understand the necessary order of signification or representation. In this way, I argue, we can come to be equally amused by all appearances, recognizing that their deceptive character is necessitated by the playful nature of the real thing which, qua joke, provokes amusement.

September 18, 2023

What Makes a Joke Bad: Enthymemes and the Pragmatics of Humor

Michael K. Cundall, Fabrizio Macagno

Page range: 111-129

Abstract

Bad jokes are not simply non-humorous texts. They are texts that are humorous for someone––their author at least––but not for their audience. Bad jokes thus involve a contextual––pragmatic––dimension that is neglected in the semantic theories of humor. In this paper, we propose an approach to humor based on the Aristotelian notion of surprising enthymemes. Jokes are analyzed as kinds of arguments, whose tacit dimension can be retrieved and justified by considering the “logic” on which it is based. However, jokes are based on specific pragmatic conditions: they are regarded as arguments grounded on a generalization that is at the same time uncommon, retrievable, and acceptable or plausible for the audience. This perspective integrates the “local logic” of jokes within a broader rhetorical theory that ultimately rests on the communicative notion of common ground.

September 18, 2023

It’s Okay to Laugh at Fat Bastard: Ridicule, Satire, and Immoralism

Lukas J. Myers

Page range: 131-162

Abstract

Comic immoralism is the view that sometimes funny things are funny due to their having immoral properties of some sort. Immoralism has many proponents and detractors. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, I clarify the scope and content of comic immoralism as a general thesis in the philosophy of humor. I will argue that the debate about immoralism has unduly excluded certain categories of humor from inclusion, and that the language which immoralists sometimes use can be misleading. Second, I argue for my own version of immoralism, which I call ridicule immoralism. Ridicule immoralism holds that sometimes things are funny due to their being ridiculous, and that things are often ridiculous due to being morally flawed. It follows from this that a version of comic immoralism is true.

September 18, 2023

Oppression, Subversive Humor, and Unstable Politics

Amy Marvin

Page range: 163-186

Abstract

This essay argues that humor can be used as an unstable weapon against oppressive language and concepts. Drawing from radical feminist Marilyn Frye, I discuss the difficulty of challenging systematic oppression from within and explore the capabilities of humor for this task. This requires expanding Cynthia Willett’s and Julie Willett’s approach to fumerism beyond affect to fully examine the work of humor in manipulating language, concepts, and imagery. For this expansion, I bring in research on feminist linguistics alongside other philosophers of political humor to consider the connection between humor and world-making. I then link this with feminist world-breaking through Monique Wittig’s analysis of war machines and Trojan horses against heteropatriarchal language. Finally, I draw out the instability of humor as a war machine by investigating a bit where comedian Patti Harrison disguised herself as an official corporate brand platform to challenge the compulsory commodification of LGBTQ rights.

September 18, 2023

What's the Deal with Sophists? Critical Thought and Humor in Ancient Philosophy and Contemporary Comedy

Jeremy Fogel

Page range: 187-216

Abstract

While committed to the argumentative and reasoned discourse recognizable in the work of contemporary professional philosophers, the actual practice that both Socrates and Diogenes routinely engaged in was in many ways more similar to stand-up and other forms of contemporary performative comedy. This paper analyzes the commonalities between Socrates’s and Diogenes's public philosophizing in Ancient Greece and performative comedy in the contemporary world, and emphasizes the subversive rhetorical efficiency and skeptical significance of public irony for their audiences. The paper begins by exploring the ways in which ancient philosophers relied on irony and humor to promote skepticism and critical thinking, analyzes contemporary comic performances that seem similar, and concludes with reflections on the varieties of philosophical activity and experience.

Discussion: Article for Further Debate

September 18, 2023

Discussion: Article for Further Debate Edited by John Marmysz

Page range: 217-220

September 18, 2023

What’s So Funny About Golf?

Janet McCracken

Page range: 221-223

September 18, 2023

Artificial Intelligence, Phenomenology, and The Molyneux Problem

Chris A. Kramer

Page range: 225-226

September 18, 2023

A Kernel of Truth: Outlining an Epistemology of Jokes

Thomas Wilk

Page range: 227-246

Abstract

I propose the Shared Presupposition Norm of Joking (SPNJ) as a constitutive norm of joke-telling. This norm suggests that a person should only tell a joke if they believe their audience shares the presuppositions—both explicit beliefs and implicit inferential connections—upon which the joke turns. Without this shared understanding, the audience would lack the necessary comprehension to appreciate the joke. I defend this norm in an analogous way to Williamson’s defense of the Knowledge Norm of Assertion by demonstrating that it explains a number of patterns of joking behavior. If SPNJ is indeed a constitutive norm of joking, it provides an epistemological foothold. Jokes function as conversational explicatures serving an epistemically diagnostic function, revealing implicit and perhaps disavowed inferential dispositions of the joking community. This norm does not teach us about the subject matter of the joke, but instead illuminates the language games of the joke teller and audience.

Philosophical Satire and Criticism

September 18, 2023

Philosophical Satire and Criticism Edited by Steven Gimbel

Page range: 247-249

September 18, 2023

How to Read Wittgenstein as x: An Exercise in Selective Interpretation

Thomas J. Brommage

Page range: 251-258

Abstract

I wish here to outline a new methodology for the history of philosophy, which is inspired from the practice of scholarship on Wittgenstein; I will call it “selective interpretation.” It is a method by which an historical figure is read so as to make any philosopher sound like they completely agree with one’s own personal stand on philosophical issues. First, I seek to systematize a set of rules which will aid one in reading the text any damn way one pleases. The next section lays out these rules, outlining the necessary tools to read any text exactly as you want it to read. In the rest of the paper, I plan to give a few specific examples of selective interpretation of the early Wittgenstein: reading the Tractatus so that it sounds like David Hume, Immanuel Kant and Arthur Schopenhauer, respectively. I hope that my analysis here will be therapeutic to Wittgenstein scholars. And I hope also to help other historians of philosophy come to understand this daring methodological proposal.

Humor in Philosophy Education

September 18, 2023

Humor in Philosophy Education Edited by Christine A. James

Page range: 259-261

September 18, 2023

Quantifying Laughter in International Research

Christine A. James

Page range: 263-279

Abstract

Historical theories of humor rely on a classic distinction in philosophy, the distinction between reason and emotion. Such a distinction lends itself to qualitative rather than quantitative research. In the last 40 years, quantitative scholarship on laughter and comedy has become very popular, and often includes international and indigenous examples of laughter as a healing or teaching tool. This paper addresses the historical research on laughter and mockery, then shows the broad range of quantitative studies that have provided important data on the usefulness of humor in teaching and in memorization of material. While there are a variety of items that one might laugh at, there are also certain commonalities that transcend social groups.

Symposium

September 18, 2023

Symposium Edited by Steven Gimbel Robert R. Clewis, Foreword by Noël Carroll, Kant’s Humorous Writings: An Illustrated Guide. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. Pp. xxiv + 256 Critics

Page range: 281-281

September 18, 2023

Prosecuting the Case against Clewis

Susan Castro

Page range: 283-286

September 18, 2023

All in Good Taste

Lauren Olin

Page range: 287-289

September 18, 2023

Is Kant Seriously Funny?

Stephen A. Setman

Page range: 291-293

September 18, 2023

Clewis on Kant’s Humor

Richard M. Rubin

Page range: 295-297

Author’s Response

September 18, 2023

Author's Response

Page range: 299-299

September 18, 2023

Humor and the Arts: Taking Kant Seriously

Robert R. Clewis

Page range: 301-305

Book Reviews

September 18, 2023

Book Reviews Edited by Lydia Amir With Pierre Destrée (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) and John Marmysz (Modern and Contemporary Philosophy)

Page range: 307-307

September 18, 2023

Page range: 309-314

Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines

September 18, 2023

Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines

Page range: 315-315

September 18, 2023

Page range: 317-321

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Submit

The yearbook accepts original articles written in the English language. The manuscript needs to be prepared for anonymous reviews. Upon submission, please choose one of the categories available:

Academic Philosophy article

Cognitive Studies article

Philosophy of Religion (Religious Studies) article

Political Science article

Humorous/satirical article

Critique of a humorous piece or act (play, stand-up act, novel, etc.)

Humor in Philosophy Education

Discussion piece

Guidelines

Submission Guidelines

All manuscripts should be submitted electronically as MS Word documents to lydamir [at] mail.com and phy [at] degruyter.com, prepared for anonymous review.

The manuscript should contain an abstract of 120–150 words and 4–5 keywords. Research articles should have a minimum of 8,000 words. We prefer the maximum to be 10, 000 words but in exceptional cases it can be up to 15,000 words. The word count includes notes and references. Satirical and critical pieces, sometimes also pedagogical articles can be shorter; discussion pieces should be much shorter (500–600 words).

The article should be prepared for anonymous refereeing. Author name(s), affiliation, and contact information, as well the title of the article, the date of submission and the desired section of the Yearbook to which the manuscript is submitted (see below) need to be submitted in a separate file.

The title of the e-mail should indicate the name of the Yearbook (PHY) and the section to which the manuscript is being submitted (for the categories, see above).

All manuscripts, except book reviews, which are judged differently, are sent to anonymous reviewers, selected from our pool of established scholars.

Formatting Guidelines

Word document, justified to the left.

Times New Roman font: 12 point for the text and block quotes, 10 point for footnotes.

Double spaced, excluding footnotes and block quotes, which are single-spaced.

Add free lines before and after headings and block quotes. Block quotes should also be indented.

Apart from the first paragraph of all sections and sub-sections, all paragraphs should be indented without free lines.

Use standard word formats for headings, including the Introduction and Conclusion, and number them in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3…). Subheadings should follow (1.1, 1.2, 1.3…).

Reference Style

All manuscripts should follow American English and the conventions of The Chicago Manual of Style, 16^th Edition.

Use the author-date system. Further elaborations that do not fit into the main text may be placed in footnotes, though authors should keep them at a minimum. Bibliographies need only be provided in the references.

Quotes that are longer than four lines should be indented, without quotation marks.

References should be provided in full and in alphabetical order at the end of the article. See the examples below.

Journal Article

Waterman, Alan S. 1993. "Personal Expressiveness (eudaimonia) and Hedonic Enjoyment."

Journal of Personality and Social　Psychology 64(4): 678–91.

Book

Cohen, Ted. 1999. Jokes: Philosophical Thoughts on Joking Matters. Chicago, IL: University of

Chicago Press.

Emmanuel, Steven M. ed. 2018. Buddhist Philosophy: A Comparative Approach. Malden, MA:

John Wiley and Sons.

Freud, Sigmund. (1905) 1960. Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. Translated by James

Strachey. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Spell out "Edited by" or "Translated by" for citing books with an editor or translator apart from the author.

Use the abbreviation ed. (or eds. for more than one) when an editor takes the place of an author for citation. See CMOS 9.58–63

When there is more than one author or editor, the first name of the second author or editor should precede the family name: Smart, Mark, and Michael Debt.

Chapter or part of an edited book

Fridja, Nico H. 2004. "The Psychologists’ Point of View." In Handbook of Emotions, edited by

Michael Lewis, Jeannette M. Haviland-Jones, and Lisa Feldman Barrett‏, 3^rd edition, 68–87. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Additional Requirements

Abbreviate number ranges: 316–17 (with an en dash) in the footnotes and the references.

Use un-spaced em dashes in the text.

When citing multiple works by the same author, write the author’s full name in every line.

Add States to towns when referencing books: Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Emphasized and foreign words should be italicized.

Add "’s" rather than "’" to a name that finishes with s: "Socrates’s"

Indent by tabulator only, no manual spacing.

Type one space after periods, commas, and colons.

Do not use single quotation marks, except within a quote with double quotation marks.

Insert notes without changing the preset options on Microsoft Word’s "Footnote and Endnote" feature, and do not renumber notes.

Editorial

Lydia Amir (Editor-in-Chief), Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

Associate Editors

Pierre Destrée, University of Louvain, Belgium
Steven Gimbel, Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania, PA, USA
Christine A. James, Valdosta State University, GA, USA
Sheila Lintott, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA
John Marmysz, College of Marin, Kentfield, CA, USA
Lauren Olin University of Missouri, St. Louis, USA

Editorial Board Members

Noël Carroll, CUNY, NY, USA
Simon Critchley, The New School, NY, USA
Daniel Dennett, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
Stephen Halliwell, Emeritus, St. Andrews University, UK
Kathleen Higgins, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
John Lippitt, University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia
John Morreall, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
Robert C. Roberts, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
Quentin Skinner, Queen Mary University of London, UK

Submissions should be sent to the Editor at lydamir@mail.com

(Deutsch)

Online ISSN: 2698-718X
Print ISSN: 2698-7171
Type: Yearbook
Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
First published: September 20, 2020
Publication Frequency: 1 Issue per Year
Audience: Scholars, institutes, libraries
Keywords: Philosophy of Humor

The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook

Titlepages

Table of Contents

Vico’s Theory of Humor and Laughter

Abstract

Laughter as Natural Piety: John Dewey, Humor, and the Religious

Abstract

Understanding Humor: Four Conceptual Approaches to the Elusive Subject

Abstract

Reality Is a Joke

Abstract

What Makes a Joke Bad: Enthymemes and the Pragmatics of Humor

Abstract

It’s Okay to Laugh at Fat Bastard: Ridicule, Satire, and Immoralism

Abstract

Oppression, Subversive Humor, and Unstable Politics

Abstract

What's the Deal with Sophists? Critical Thought and Humor in Ancient Philosophy and Contemporary Comedy

Abstract

Discussion: Article for Further Debate Edited by John Marmysz

What’s So Funny About Golf?

Artificial Intelligence, Phenomenology, and The Molyneux Problem

A Kernel of Truth: Outlining an Epistemology of Jokes

Abstract

Philosophical Satire and Criticism Edited by Steven Gimbel

How to Read Wittgenstein as x: An Exercise in Selective Interpretation

Abstract

Humor in Philosophy Education Edited by Christine A. James

Quantifying Laughter in International Research

Abstract

Symposium Edited by Steven Gimbel Robert R. Clewis, Foreword by Noël Carroll, Kant’s Humorous Writings: An Illustrated Guide. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. Pp. xxiv + 256 Critics

Prosecuting the Case against Clewis

All in Good Taste

Is Kant Seriously Funny?

Clewis on Kant’s Humor

Author's Response

Humor and the Arts: Taking Kant Seriously

Book Reviews Edited by Lydia Amir With Pierre Destrée (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) and John Marmysz (Modern and Contemporary Philosophy)

Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines