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The Comical

A Philosophical Analysis

  • Book
  • © 1993

Overview

Authors:
  1. Bohdan Dziemidok

    1. Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, University of Gdańsk, Poland

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Part of the book series: Nijhoff International Philosophy Series (NIPS, volume 47)

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Table of contents (16 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. Defining the Comical

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-7
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    2. The Theory of a Negative Feature and of the Superiority of the Subject of the Comical

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 8-12

    3. The Theory of Degradation

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 13-16

    4. The Theory of Contrast

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 17-22

    5. The Theory of Incongruity

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 23-34

    6. The Theory of a Deviation from a Norm

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 35-40

    7. The Theories of Mixed Motifs

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 41-54

    8. A Defence of the Relationist Version of the Deviation Theory

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 55-66

    9. Major Ways of Evoking the Comical

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 78-92

  3. Forms of the Comical

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 73-77
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    2. Main Forms of the Comical

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 93-138

    3. Cognitive Functions of the Comical

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 148-153

    4. The Role of Jest and Derision in Primitive Cultures

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 154-157

  4. Social Significance of the Comical

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 143-147
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    2. The Comical as a Source of Psychic Hygiene: Entertainment and Therapy

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 158-164

    3. Laughter: A Social Weapon

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 165-192

    4. The Comical as a Source of Psychic Hygiene: Entertainment and Therapy

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 158-164

    5. Laughter: A Social Weapon

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 165-192

    6. Notes to Part III

      • Bohdan Dziemidok
      Pages 193-196
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Keywords

About this book

The problem of the comical is one of the most interesting issues in aesthetics. Its significance extends well beyond the sphere of aesthetic studies and has at­ tracted the attention of the scholars working in other fields such as the theorists and historians of particular art forms, sociologists, psychologists, as well as anthropologists, ethnographers and the theorists of education. Philosophy has devoted a lot of attention to the comical. Since Aristotle al­ most every philosopher has felt obliged to comment on this question. However, even though they have offered a number of accurate observations on the subject, the philosophers involved in the discussion about the comical have earned a reputation of being rather devoid of the sense of the comical and many a time their considerations have been compared to those of a blind man talking about colours. And yet the problem of the comical kept attracting them to such an ex­ tent that they paid no heed to the difficulties involved and neglected the risk of becoming ridiculous themselves. Adolf Zeissing once remarked that all the litera­ ture on the comical is a "comedy of errors" committed while defining the comi­ cal. Yet even he could not resist the temptation of adding another page to this "comedy of errors". Tadeusz Boy-Zeleriski claimed that the good thing about the philosophical writing concerning the comical is that it offers not only the theory of the comical but at the same time is the theory's practical application.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, University of Gdańsk, Poland

    Bohdan Dziemidok

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