The Palgrave Handbook of the Philosophy of Humor

The Palgrave Handbook of the Philosophy of Humor gathers the best scholars in this now well-established field in order to fill a significant lacuna: to provide an accurate explanation of philosophers’ attitudes toward humor as an umbrella term, both historically and thematically. To that purpose, it addresses not only humor, but also laughter and the comical, as well as related terms, such as smiling, wit, jokes, caricature, irony and stand-up comedy.

The first part of the Handbook is historical and presents the main philosophers and the major philosophic schools which have taken humor seriously. It clarifies the ways in which humor has been interpreted through various periods in Western history, and engages with the various spiritual traditions and diverse cultures within which humor has been significant.

Parts 2, 3 and 4 examine key themes. Part 2 disambiguates the main notions which are associated with humor as an umbrella term, and emphasizes their role in philosophy. Part 3 explores how humor has been understood, approaching it through various lenses. Finally, Part 4 addresses the main questions in the ethics of humor, such as its capacity to offend and its potential to be virtuous, and the strong ties between humor and the human predicament.

This Handbook is essential reading for all scholars, researchers, and advanced students of the philosophy of humor and of humor studies. It is also of interest to scholars in related fields including philosophical psychology, ethics, and the history of philosophy.

Lydia Amir teaches at the Department of Philosophy at Tufts University, USA. In addition to publications in other fields, her monographs on humour include Humor and the Good Life in Modern Philosophy: Shaftesbury, Hamann, Kierkegaard (2014), Philosophy, Humor, and the Human Condition: Taking Ridicule Seriously (2019), and The Legacy of Nietzsche’s Philosophy of Laughter: Bataille, Deleuze, and Rosset (2021). She serves as President of the International Association for the Philosophy of Humor, which she founded ten years ago.