Here are some bits from my episode with Jim Spiegel in which we talk his philosophical article exploring why flatulence is funny. Hear the whole thing below. Enjoy.
P: Okay, so but you did you seriously wrote a paper titled Why is Flatulence Funny or something along those lines. And it was published. Tell me about that.
S: So yeah, it's a Cambridge journal called Think. And for many years I'd thought about different theories of humor and it really falls under the broader category of aesthetics actually . . . We think about comedy as a one of the genres along with tragedy that we find in theater as well as written forms. Comedies make us laugh or at least when they're good, they make us laugh. And so there's an interesting philosophical question there. What is it about us such that we respond in this way physiologically? . . . The three main theories that emerged historically are superiority theory, incongruity theory, and relief theory.
. . .
P: would you say that there is an objective measure or that comedy is objective or is it entirely subjective?
S: That actually connects with the book I've just written, that is coming out in August or September, and it's being published by cascade. It's called A Thing of Beauty: How everything is art and art is everything
. . .
S: But anyway, I believe this movie is objectively good. So does my daughter. So, you may disagree and say, no, I don't think so. And so we get into a debate. Now, if subjectivism is true, aesthetic subjectivism, which says it's all in the eye of the beholder, we're totally wasting our time debating it. I mean, that would be like debating whether broccoli tastes good, right?
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Penjammin grew up in a labyrinthine cavern. Later he ran with the wolves and lived every moment marinated in the sweet scent of his game, until pirates landed and… See About for full story, and get his eletter at penjams.com/subscribe.