Humor and the Common Good

Why Humor Is Important for the Good Life

Michael K. Cundall, Jr.

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN:
  9783110760279
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Modern Philosophy

The role of humor as helpful in our individual lives has long been touted. Satirists and comics have also been known to play important roles in our society. But what hasn't been explored is why and how humor and mirth are important to the overall health of the public. This book explores the idea of humor as a public good. A good the promotes the health and well-being of the society and its individual members. The book begins with an exploration of the notion of a public good and then argues for a particular view of what a public good is. Topics covered will include the importance of humor and mirth to an individual's happiness, the role of satire and the comic in our world, and how these two pieces together work to promote the public good. Content will be devoted to covering what humor is and how it works and why the way it works is also important to the public good. Ultimately, the argument for humor as a public good is to help grow the purview of humor studies more generally as well as provide and novel argument about the relevance and importance of humor in our public and private lives.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Frontmatter
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction Sketching the Argument for Humor & the Common Good
• Chapter 1 Views on the Common Good
• Chapter 2 Humor, Laughter, & Mirth in Our Lives: Laughter as an Aggregative Common Good
• Chapter 3 Humor, Happiness, & Wellbeing
• Chapter 4 Beyond the Instrumental Benefits of Humor
• Chapter 5 Humor, Laughter, & Mirth in Interpersonal Relationships: Philosophical & Empirical Findings
• Chapter 6 Humor, Laughter, & Mirth in Society: Philosophical & Empirical Findings
• Chapter 7 The Darker Side of Humor: Ridicule & Social Degradation
• Chapter 8 Isn’t it Funny When We Fail: Shortcomings of the Project, Objections Entertained
• Chapter 9 He Who Laughs Last: Concluding Remarks for Laugher
• Index