Course Materials:
Must Read: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/
Hutcheson Reading: Appendix One
Hutcheson: http://www.liquisearch.com/theories_of_humor/incongruity_theory
Format: Save as a .doc, docx, or pdf file. Single space the text and use reasonable margins and font.
Guidelines: Answer all of the questions in short essays of approximately 300-500 words. Clearly number your answers to correspond to the question you’re answering. Be sure to answer all parts of the question. Do not rely on the course power point slides. Instead, go to the course materials, reread, isolate the appropriate portion(s) of the material and closely examine it. For questions that don’t have specific course material you need to do your own research on related topics. Write in your own words; again, no quotations should be used at all. You can consult with and discuss the assignment with your classmates; in fact, I encourage you to do so. However, the work you submit must be entirely your own. No quotations should be used.
Anonymous grading: Do not put your name in the title of the file in which you save your test; place your name ONLY on a final page at the end of your test. Nothing but your name should appear on the last page.
Answers will be graded for:
• Completeness
• Accuracy
• Depth of understanding illustrated
• Facility with the concepts discussed
• Clarity of writing
It should be very obvious from your answers that you’ve carefully read and reflected on the texts and that you’ve carefully considered and reflected on issues raised in class meetings.
Extended research on those topics is also recommended:Recommended Reading: The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor by John Moreall.
1. Explain Kant’s notion of the absurd and how it relates to the epistemological value of humor. Read: (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/ Further research on Kant needed)
Explain Schopenhauer’s distinction between wit and folly. Give a clear example ofpedantry as Schopenhauer conceives of it. Explain whether and why it is wit or folly.(Read: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/ Further research on Schopenhauer needed)
2. Behind Hutcheson’s disagreements with Hobbes about the nature of laughter lie two very different conceptions of human nature. Explain how their different conceptions of human nature are evidenced in their theories of laughter. (Read: Two Hutcheson readings,Hobbes, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/, further research recommended)
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