Humor: Practical philosophy club Stockholm 🇸🇪

Hi

This week we will discuss "humor and the laughable "which sits at the intersection of psychology, ethics, social life, language, power, and even tragedy.

Some figures that had insightful arguments on this issue are Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, Henri Bergson, Sigmund Freud and Mikhail Bakhtin.

Here is a set of questions to direct the 2 hour discussion:

Part I — What Is Laughter? (20 min)

Why do humans laugh?

Is laughter uniquely human?

What makes something funny rather than merely strange?

Is humor discovered—or created socially?

Part II — Humor and Superiority (25 min)

Do we laugh mainly at others?

Is all humor cruel at some level?

Is humor culture depended and why?

Why is embarrassment often funny?

Can self-deprecating humor escape superiority?

Is laughter a form of social dominance?

Part III — Incongruity and Absurdity (25 min)

Why are surprise and contradiction funny?

Why does absurdity create laughter?

Can something be funny without making sense?

Why does repetition sometimes become more funny rather than less?

Part IV — Humor, Repression, and Taboo (25 min)

Why do taboo subjects often become humorous?

Is dark humor morally dangerous—or psychologically necessary?

Can humor express truths that seriousness cannot?

Are jokes a safe release for aggression and desire?

Part V — Social and Political Humor (15 min)

Can humor challenge power?

Why do authoritarian systems fear satire?

Does humor unite people—or divide them?

Is offensive humor ever philosophically valuable?

Final Reflection (10 min)

Is humor fundamentally good for human life?

Could a completely serious society remain healthy?