Humour: A Very Short Introduction

Humour: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Noël Carroll
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191642592
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Humour has been discovered in every known human culture and thinkers have discussed it for over two thousand years. Humour can serve many functions; it can be used to relieve stress, to promote goodwill among strangers, to dissipate tension within a fractious group, to display intelligence, and some have even claimed that it improves health and fights sickness. In this Very Short Introduction Noel Carroll examines the leading theories of humour including The Superiority Theory and The Incongruity Theory. He considers the relation of humour to emotion and cognition, and explores the value of humour, specifically in its social functions. He argues that humour, and the comic amusement that follows it, has a crucial role to play in the construction of communities, but he also demonstrates that the social aspect of humour raises questions such as 'When is humour immoral?' and 'Is laughing at immoral humour itself immoral?'. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Humour: A Very Short Introduction

Humour: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Noël Carroll
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191642592
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Get Book

Book Description
Humour has been discovered in every known human culture and thinkers have discussed it for over two thousand years. Humour can serve many functions; it can be used to relieve stress, to promote goodwill among strangers, to dissipate tension within a fractious group, to display intelligence, and some have even claimed that it improves health and fights sickness. In this Very Short Introduction Noel Carroll examines the leading theories of humour including The Superiority Theory and The Incongruity Theory. He considers the relation of humour to emotion and cognition, and explores the value of humour, specifically in its social functions. He argues that humour, and the comic amusement that follows it, has a crucial role to play in the construction of communities, but he also demonstrates that the social aspect of humour raises questions such as 'When is humour immoral?' and 'Is laughing at immoral humour itself immoral?'. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Humour: A Very Short Introduction

Humour: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Noël Carroll
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199552223
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
Examines the leading theories of humor, focusing on the incongruity theory.

Comedy: A Very Short Introduction

Comedy: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Matthew Bevis
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199601712
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
With a broad scope across the millennia, from high literature to popular culture, between page and stage and screen, this Very Short Introduction considers comedy not only as a literary genre, but also as a broader impulse at work in many other historical and contemporary forms of satire, parody, and play.

On Humour

On Humour PDF Author: Simon Critchley
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135199035
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
Does humour make us human, or do the cats and dogs laugh along with us? On Humour is a fascinating, beautifully written and funny book on what humour can tell us about being human. Simon Critchley skilfully probes some of the most perennial but least understood aspects of humour, such as our tendency to laugh at animals and our bodies, why we mock death with comedy and why we think it's funny when people act like machines. He also looks at the darker side of humour, as rife in sexism and racism and argues that it is important for reminding us of people we would rather not be.

Comic Relief

Comic Relief PDF Author: John Morreall
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444358294
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Comic Relief: A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor develops an inclusive theory that integrates psychological, aesthetic, and ethical issues relating to humor Offers an enlightening and accessible foray into the serious business of humor Reveals how standard theories of humor fail to explain its true nature and actually support traditional prejudices against humor as being antisocial, irrational, and foolish Argues that humor’s benefits overlap significantly with those of philosophy Includes a foreword by Robert Mankoff, Cartoon Editor of The New Yorker

Humour

Humour PDF Author: Terry Eagleton
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300244789
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
A compelling guide to the fundamental place of humour and comedy within Western culture—by one of its greatest exponents Written by an acknowledged master of comedy, this study reflects on the nature of humour and the functions it serves. Why do we laugh? What are we to make of the sheer variety of laughter, from braying and cackling to sniggering and chortling? Is humour subversive, or can it defuse dissent? Can we define wit? Packed with illuminating ideas and a good many excellent jokes, the book critically examines various well-known theories of humour, including the idea that it springs from incongruity and the view that it reflects a mildly sadistic form of superiority to others. Drawing on a wide range of literary and philosophical sources, Terry Eagleton moves from Aristotle and Aquinas to Hobbes, Freud, and Bakhtin, looking in particular at the psychoanalytical mechanisms underlying humour and its social and political evolution over the centuries.

Viruses

Viruses PDF Author: Dorothy H. Crawford
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198811713
Category : Medical virology
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
Viruses are big news. From pandemics such as HIV, swine flu, and SARS, we are constantly being bombarded with information about new lethal infections. In this Very Short Introduction, Dorothy Crawford demonstrates from their discovery and the unravelling of their intricate structures, how clever these entities really are.

Laughter

Laughter PDF Author: Robert R. Provine
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101659254
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Do men and women laugh at the same things? Is laughter contagious? Has anyone ever really died laughing? Is laughing good for your health? Drawing upon ten years of research into this most common-yet complex and often puzzling-human phenomenon, Dr. Robert Provine, the world's leading scientific expert on laughter, investigates such aspects of his subject as its evolution, its role in social relationships, its contagiousness, its neural mechanisms, and its health benefits. This is an erudite, wide-ranging, witty, and long-overdue exploration of a frequently surprising subject.

The Humor Code

The Humor Code PDF Author: Peter McGraw
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451665423
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Part road-trip comedy and part social science experiment, a scientist and a journalist travel the globe to discover the secret behind what makes things funny, questioning countless experts, including Louis C.K., along the way.

Sleepwalk with Me

Sleepwalk with Me PDF Author: Mike Birbiglia
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476705763
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Offers a humorous memoir about first love, denial, sleepwalking, and the author's perils and pitfalls of being himself.