Comedy Is Philosophy

The School of Athens, Raphael, 1511

Curtis Winkelmann | 22 November 2024

Comedy and Meta-Consciousness

When people are asked what’s important in their lives they often mention humour. If we go back far enough, we see ancient Greek philosophers like Seneca, Plato, and Aristotle, all thinking and writing about humour. And this trend continues on throughout the ages, with nearly all notable intellectuals and cultural leaders investigating the topic at least once in their career.

Fast forward another few thousand years to when science tries to tackle the subject. We begin to have Beings like anthropologists and psychologists all attempting their own deconstruction of humour, seeking to understand what it is, where it comes from, and what role it plays in our human evolution.

Theories Tested. Answers Sought.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the American Journal of Psychology listed humour in their strengths and virtues chapter, hailing its ability to serve as a form of “social lubricant,” a tool that could aid our species in fostering trust and reducing conflict. In other words, humour seemed to be at the core of our interpersonal relationships, our civility, our friend-making.

But there’s a clear and immediate problem faced by anyone who elects to study the subject of humour. And that is, much like art, its appreciation is undeniably subjective. Different people can find different things funny. And so humour’s nature reveals itself to be intrinsically linked with abstractions more so than facts. There are no absolutes to be drawn. No answers to glean. But I don’t know if that matters. You see, one of the most interesting things about humour, at least to me, is just the sheer fact that it has always been studied. From the beginning of recorded history, it was always clear to some mind, somewhere, that the way in which we laugh with one another, the way in which we joke around, is a practice worth thinking about.

Granted, it might not readily provide the cold hard existential insights we all crave. But in the same vein as philosophy, comedy plays an important role in cultivating a deeper way of thinking about ourselves and our lives.

The Art of Taking Nothing Seriously

Comedy promotes the ancient spiritual idea of taking Nothing Seriously, an intellectual practice which fosters mental flexibility. Much like a comedian crafting a joke, philosophers invite us to view reality from all of its various angles: The Subjective (emotion) and The Objective (logic).

Unlike a strictly serious manner of thinking, comedy can take into account both the rational and the ridiculous. It invites scrutinisation of what we think we know to be true and does so without any sense of responsibility. In other words, it frees up our mind to evaluate all answers whilst also protecting us from one of the main obstacles in pursuing truth: Fear of being proved wrong.

Enlightenment Stuff

In the adult world we tend to dismiss seemingly absurd or silly topics as though they hold no potential to impact our lives in any meaningful way. We would rather focus our internal sights, silently, on more outright existential questions like Who am I? Or, What the fuck is going on, like, in general?

But as I see it, these are not two ends of some serious spectrum. Rather, they are two elements locked in balance. Two halves of the same whole. The yin-yang of conscious experience.

It might seem overreaching to state this, but I would argue that perhaps the ridiculous and absurd offer a more direct way into profound understanding.

Why? Well, there’s an argument that these grand serious questions aren’t even the right questions to be asking in the first place. They are dead ends, conversational wormholes designed to suck you in and crush you flat. They are also, in some sense, meaningless. For it is the tangible infinitesimal quirks of our lives that offer us clues, reasons, purpose, love — rarely the what ifs.

I suppose, if I were to sum up these ideas with one concise point, it would be this: Be weary of anyone who will declare an idea ridiculous to invalidate its importance. There’s a high chance they are only protecting an opinion they don’t want to reevaluate for reasons that have nothing to do with the pursuit of truth.

Remember. Comedy is philosophy.