The pleasure of fools : essays in the ethics of laughter / Jure Gantar.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gantar, Jure, 1964-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Laughter in literature.

Laughter--Moral and ethical aspects.

Laughter.

Physical Description:

193 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005.

Summary:

Laughter is often seen as malicious and abusive. Can there exist a laughter that is tolerant and constructive? Jure Gantar explores the ethical possibilities of laughter with a detailed examination of the most common attacks on this popular response. In a passionate and meticulous analysis of several major texts of classic literature, combined with a reading of relevant critical and philosophical works, Gantar concludes that attempts to reduce laughter to its ethical dimension inevitably lead to a theoretical quagmire.

Contents:

Introduction: A Critical Prejudice 3

1 Alternatives to Laughter 17

2 Typologies of Laughter 32

3 Nonsense 50

4 Ridicule 71

5 Laughter in Utopia 92

6 Self-Deprecating Laughter 112

7 The Comedian 130

Conclusion: Laughter and Insult 150.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

077352892X :

OCLC:

57575652