A Philosophy of Humour

1. Auflage 2019
ISBN: 978-3-030-14381-7
Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 133 Seiten, Format (B × H): 153 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 308 g

Humour is a funny thing - everyone knows it but no-one knows what it is. This book addresses the question 'What is humour?' by first untangling the definitions of humour, amusement and funniness before then providing a new theory of humour which draws upon recent research in philosophy, psychology, linguistics and neuroscience. The theory is built up without assuming any prior knowledge and illustrated through humorous examples which are both entertaining and educational for anyone curious about what makes things funny. The book is then an accessible illumination of joking matters from dinner tables to online platforms to comedy clubs.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Roberts, Alan

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ästhetik
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Moderne Philosophische Disziplinen Philosophie des Geistes, Neurophilosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction2. Amusement, Funniness and Humour1. What is Amusement?2. What is Funniness3. What is Humour?4. Chapter Summary3. Early Theories of Amusement1. The Essentialist Approach2. Early Superiority Theories3. Early Incongruity Theories4. Early Incongruity Theories5. Early Play Theories6. Chapter Summary4. The Cognitive Component of Amusement1 Early Incongruity Theory1.1. Incongruity Necessary1.2. Incongruity Sufficiency2. Unsuccessful Refinements2.1. Expectation Violation2.2. Norm Violation2.3. Erroneous Conceptualisation2.4. Error Detection3 Bisociation Refinement3.1. Bisociation Theories3.2. Theoretical Synthesis3.3. Critical Assessment4. Resolution Refinement4.1. Resolution Theories4.2. Theoretical Synthesis4.3. Critical Assessment5. The Cognitive Component of Amusement6. Chapter Summary5. The Affective Component of Amusement1. Superiority Theories1.1. Early Superiority Theory1.2. Modern Superiority Theory1.3. Key Insight2. Release Theories2.1. Early Release Theory2.2. Modern Release Theory2.3. Key Insight3. Play Theories3.1. Early Play Theory3.2. Modern Play Theory3.3. Key Insight4. The Affective Component of Amusement5. Chapter Summary6. A Theory of Amusement1. Combining the Cognitive and Affective Components of Amusement1.1. Cognitive Dissonance1.2. Theory of Amusement1.3. Critical Assessment2. Increasing Amusement via Arousal3. Chapter Summary.

Über Autor(innen)

Alan Roberts has taught philosophy at the University of Sussex and University College London in the UK. His research on humour has been published in academic books, philosophy journals and online magazines.