Philosophers' Theories on Humor
I disagree with Plato's theories on humor, and I think Irby's writing provides significant support to prove Plato is wrong. Plato believes laughter is something to be avoided, as it comes from a lose of control and a place of malice. According to Plato, we laugh at vice, or self-ignorance, of people who are powerless (10). I argue that we laugh at vice or self-ignorance in our selves, and that this source of laughter is only a percentage of the things we find humorous. Irby shows this first hand, presenting the less admirable and desirable aspects of herself and personality and making jokes of her own experiences. We laugh at her work, not because we think of ourselves as better than her, but rather because we can relate to her, and are laughing at her ability to make relatable parts of the human experience into something fun and humorous. In this way, we repute Hobbes' superiority theory of laughter, that we laugh as a sudden expression of glory in feeli...
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