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All Too Human

Laughter, Humor, and Comedy in Nineteenth-Century Philosophy

Editors:

  • Is the only book dealing with philosophies of humor, comedy, and laughter in the 19th Century
  • Helps distinguish among aesthetic categories such as humor, comedy, laughter, irony, wit, and satire
  • Considers compelling and under-researched questions in the dynamic history of 19th Century philosophy

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in Philosophy, Religion and Public Life (BSPR, volume 7)

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About this book

This book offers an analysis of humor, comedy, and laughter as philosophical topics in the 19th Century. It traces the introduction of humor as a new aesthetic category inspired by Laurence Sterne’s "Tristram Shandy" and shows Sterne’s deep influence on German aesthetic theorists of this period. Through differentiating humor from comedy, the book suggests important distinctions within the aesthetic philosophies of G.W.F. Hegel, Karl Solger, and Jean Paul Richter. The book links Kant’s underdeveloped incongruity theory of laughter to Schopenhauer’s more complete account and identifies humor’s place in the pessimistic philosophy of Julius Bahnsen. It considers how caricature functioned at the intersection of politics, aesthetics, and ethics in Karl Rosenkranz’s work, and how Kierkegaard and Nietzsche made humor central not only to their philosophical content but also to its style. The book concludes with an explication of French philosopher Henri Bergson’s claim that laughter is a response to mechanical inelasticity.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Philosophy, Colby College, Waterville, USA

    Lydia L. Moland

About the editor

Lydia L. Moland is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Colby College.  She is the author of "Hegel on Political Identity: Patriotism, National Identity, Cosmopolitanism" and of numerous articles on Hegel’s political philosophy and philosophy of art.  She has been a recipient of fellowships from the American Academy of Berlin, the DAAD, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: All Too Human

  • Book Subtitle: Laughter, Humor, and Comedy in Nineteenth-Century Philosophy

  • Editors: Lydia L. Moland

  • Series Title: Boston Studies in Philosophy, Religion and Public Life

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91331-5

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-91330-8Published: 07 September 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-08227-7Published: 08 February 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-91331-5Published: 24 August 2018

  • Series ISSN: 2352-8206

  • Series E-ISSN: 2352-8214

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 198

  • Number of Illustrations: 4 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Aesthetics, History of Philosophy, Genre

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access