Ebook103 pages2 hours
Jokes: Philosophical Thoughts on Joking Matters
By Ted Cohen
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5
()
About this ebook
Abe and his friend Sol are out for a walk together in a part of town they haven't been in before. Passing a Christian church, they notice a curious sign in front that says "$1,000 to anyone who will convert." "I wonder what that's about," says Abe. "I think I'll go in and have a look. I'll be back in a minute; just wait for me."
Sol sits on the sidewalk bench and waits patiently for nearly half an hour. Finally, Abe reappears.
"Well," asks Sol, "what are they up to? Who are they trying to convert? Why do they care? Did you get the $1,000?"
Indignantly Abe replies, "Money. That's all you people care about."
Ted Cohen thinks that's not a bad joke. But he also doesn't think it's an easy joke. For a listener or reader to laugh at Abe's conversion, a complicated set of conditions must be met. First, a listener has to recognize that Abe and Sol are Jewish names. Second, that listener has to be familiar with the widespread idea that Jews are more interested in money than anything else. And finally, the listener needs to know this information in advance of the joke, and without anyone telling him or her. Jokes, in short, are complicated transactions in which communities are forged, intimacy is offered, and otherwise offensive stereotypes and cliches lose their sting—at least sometimes.
Jokes is a book of jokes and a book about them. Cohen loves a good laugh, but as a philosopher, he is also interested in how jokes work, why they work, and when they don't. The delight at the end of a joke is the result of a complex set of conditions and processes, and Cohen takes us through these conditions in a philosophical exploration of humor. He considers questions of audience, selection of joke topics, the ethnic character of jokes, and their morality, all with plenty of examples that will make you either chuckle or wince. Jokes: more humorous than other philosophy books, more philosophical than other humor books.
"Befitting its subject, this study of jokes is . . . light, funny, and thought-provoking. . . . [T]he method fits the material, allowing the author to pepper the book with a diversity of jokes without flattening their humor as a steamroller theory might. Such a book is only as good as its jokes, and most of his are good. . . . [E]ntertainment and ideas in one gossamer package."—Kirkus Reviews
"One of the many triumphs of Ted Cohen's Jokes-apart from the not incidental fact that the jokes are so good that he doesn't bother to compete with them-is that it never tries to sound more profound than the jokes it tells. . . . [H]e makes you feel he is doing an unusual kind of philosophy. As though he has managed to turn J. L. Austin into one of the Marx Brothers. . . . Reading Jokes makes you feel that being genial is the most profound thing we ever do-which is something jokes also make us feel-and that doing philosophy is as natural as being amused."—Adam Phillips, London Review of Books
"[A] lucid and jargon-free study of the remarkable fact that we divert each other with stories meant to make us laugh. . . . An illuminating study, replete with killer jokes."—Kevin McCardle, The Herald (Glasgow)
"Cohen is an ardent joke-maker, keen to offer us a glimpse of how jokes are crafted and to have us dwell rather longer on their effects."—Barry C. Smith, Times Literary Supplement
"Because Ted Cohen loves jokes, we come to appreciate them more, and perhaps think further about the quality of good humor and the appropriateness of laughter in our lives."—Steve Carlson, Christian Science Monitor
Sol sits on the sidewalk bench and waits patiently for nearly half an hour. Finally, Abe reappears.
"Well," asks Sol, "what are they up to? Who are they trying to convert? Why do they care? Did you get the $1,000?"
Indignantly Abe replies, "Money. That's all you people care about."
Ted Cohen thinks that's not a bad joke. But he also doesn't think it's an easy joke. For a listener or reader to laugh at Abe's conversion, a complicated set of conditions must be met. First, a listener has to recognize that Abe and Sol are Jewish names. Second, that listener has to be familiar with the widespread idea that Jews are more interested in money than anything else. And finally, the listener needs to know this information in advance of the joke, and without anyone telling him or her. Jokes, in short, are complicated transactions in which communities are forged, intimacy is offered, and otherwise offensive stereotypes and cliches lose their sting—at least sometimes.
Jokes is a book of jokes and a book about them. Cohen loves a good laugh, but as a philosopher, he is also interested in how jokes work, why they work, and when they don't. The delight at the end of a joke is the result of a complex set of conditions and processes, and Cohen takes us through these conditions in a philosophical exploration of humor. He considers questions of audience, selection of joke topics, the ethnic character of jokes, and their morality, all with plenty of examples that will make you either chuckle or wince. Jokes: more humorous than other philosophy books, more philosophical than other humor books.
"Befitting its subject, this study of jokes is . . . light, funny, and thought-provoking. . . . [T]he method fits the material, allowing the author to pepper the book with a diversity of jokes without flattening their humor as a steamroller theory might. Such a book is only as good as its jokes, and most of his are good. . . . [E]ntertainment and ideas in one gossamer package."—Kirkus Reviews
"One of the many triumphs of Ted Cohen's Jokes-apart from the not incidental fact that the jokes are so good that he doesn't bother to compete with them-is that it never tries to sound more profound than the jokes it tells. . . . [H]e makes you feel he is doing an unusual kind of philosophy. As though he has managed to turn J. L. Austin into one of the Marx Brothers. . . . Reading Jokes makes you feel that being genial is the most profound thing we ever do-which is something jokes also make us feel-and that doing philosophy is as natural as being amused."—Adam Phillips, London Review of Books
"[A] lucid and jargon-free study of the remarkable fact that we divert each other with stories meant to make us laugh. . . . An illuminating study, replete with killer jokes."—Kevin McCardle, The Herald (Glasgow)
"Cohen is an ardent joke-maker, keen to offer us a glimpse of how jokes are crafted and to have us dwell rather longer on their effects."—Barry C. Smith, Times Literary Supplement
"Because Ted Cohen loves jokes, we come to appreciate them more, and perhaps think further about the quality of good humor and the appropriateness of laughter in our lives."—Steve Carlson, Christian Science Monitor
Read more from Ted Cohen
Serious Larks: The Philosophy of Ted Cohen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Jokes
Related ebooks
Top 10 Stand Up Comedy Secrets Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Ph.D. in Happiness from the Great Comedians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Stand-Up Comic Sits Down with Jesus: A Devotional? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPun and Games: Jokes, Riddles, Daffynitions, Tairy Fales, Rhymes, and More Word Play for Kids Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best Joke Book (Period): Hundreds of the Funniest, Silliest, Most Ridiculous Jokes Ever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I Was a Loser: True Stories of (Barely) Surviving High School Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Candy Men: The Rollicking Life and Times of the Notorious Novel Candy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImprov Shaman: The Transformative Journey of Divine Play Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Restless Hungarian: Modernism, Madness, and The American Dream Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Jewish Joke Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Illustrated Dictionary of Snark: A Snide, Sarcastic Guide to Verbal Sparring, Comebacks, Irony, Insults, and Much More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Cornball: A Laffopedic Guide to the Formerly Funny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arizona Humoresque: A Century of Arizona Humor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGenres Mélange: Humor, Word Play, Personae, Sonnets, Fiction, Memoirs, Interpretation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Contest and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA World Treasury of Riddles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Vice: Very Naughty Things (and How to Do Them) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove Conquers All Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Unabridged Devil's Dictionary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Punches Pulled: Offences, Outrages and Other Observations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Compilation of 33 Incredible Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Boom Economy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Moonlit Path: Katherine's journal from 1914 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOld Age Ain't for Wimps: Comedic Laments from an Aging Sage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Columnist Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Stories, Sports, and Songs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Abundant Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen Stars Blow Out: A Fable of Fame in Our Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Family Secret Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStand Up and Be Laughed At Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Philosophy For You
The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Complete Papyrus of Ani Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bhagavad Gita (in English): The Authentic English Translation for Accurate and Unbiased Understanding Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Experiencing God (2021 Edition): Knowing and Doing the Will of God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daily Stoic: A Daily Journal On Meditation, Stoicism, Wisdom and Philosophy to Improve Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5History of Western Philosophy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bhagavad Gita Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tao Te Ching: A New English Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Questions for Deep Thinkers: 200+ of the Most Challenging Questions You (Probably) Never Thought to Ask Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Stoicism: Timeless Wisdom to Gain Resilience, Confidence, and Calmness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inward Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Frugal Hedonism: A Guide to Spending Less While Enjoying Everything More Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lessons of History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finite and Infinite Games Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao Te Ching: Six Translations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Loving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao-Te-Ching: With summaries of the writings attributed to Huai-Nan-Tzu, Kuan-Yin-Tzu and Tung-Ku-Ching Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Courage to Be Happy: Discover the Power of Positive Psychology and Choose Happiness Every Day Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Buddha's Guide to Gratitude: The Life-changing Power of Everyday Mindfulness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Denial of Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Jokes
Rating: 3.2499999857142856 out of 5 stars
3/5
14 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Jokes - Ted Cohen
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1