The HBS hosts share a lot of laughs trying to figure out if there is any adequate “theory” of comedy.
In advance of Rick Lee’s forthcoming book on laughter, co-hosts Charles and Leigh ask him why he thinks all “theories” of comedy are inadequate. What exactly is the “joke” part of a joke? Why are philosophers not only hostile to comedy, but also categorically unfunny? Is comedy formulaic or does it resist systematic analysis? What is the difference between laughing at and laughing with? What is happening to us when we laugh together– as the HBS co-hosts do a lot in this episode!– and how does laughter connect us to one another?
John Chrysostom once warned that “laughter often gives birth to foul discourse” and the HBS hosts are determined to prove the archbishop of Constantinople right in this episode. Definitely pour yourself a drink before sitting down to listen to this conversation, because it’s a helluva lot of fun!
Here are some links to ideas and thinkers referenced in Episode 19:
- Henri Bergson, Laughter: An Essay On the Meaning of the Comic (1912)
- Sigmund Freud, Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (1905)
- Andrew Huddleston, “Hegel on Comedy: Theodicy, Social Criticism, and the ‘Supreme Task’ of Art” (British Journal of Aesthetics, 2014)
- Aristotle, Poetics (350 B.C.E.)
- Leslie Savan, “Have You Ever Seen Trump Laugh?” (The Nation, 2016)
- Charles Mills, “Do Black Men Have a Moral Duty to Marry Black Women?” (1994)
- Drew C. Appleby, “Using humor in the college classroom: The pros and cons” (American Psychological Association, 2018),
- Theories of Comedy / Philosophy of Humor (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- 13 Comedy “structures”
- Trump mocks reporter with disability (video)
- Nathan Place, “Trump wanted Justice Department to stop SNL from making fun of him, report says” (The Independent, 2021)
- Steven Hyden, “The ‘Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear Has Not Aged Well” (UPROXX, 2020)
- Jay Willis, “America Took The West Wing Too Seriously” (GQ, 2019)
