Redeeming Laughter : : The Comic Dimension of Human Experience / / Peter L. Berger.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DGBA Backlist Complete English Language 2000-2014 PART1
• VerfasserIn: Berger, Peter L.,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter, , [2014]; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2014
• Edition: 2nd ed. with a new foreword
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (201 p.)
• Other title: Frontmatter --; Overview --; Preface --; Prefatory Remarks, Self-Serving Explanations, and Unsolicited Compliments --; Prologue --; Part I: Anatomy of the Comic --; 1. The Comic Intrusion --; 2. Philosophers of the Comic, and the Comedy of Philosophy --; 3. Laughing Monks: A Very Brief Sinitic Interlude --; 4. Homo Ridens: Physiology and Psychology --; 5. Homo Ridiculus: Social Constructions of the Comic --; 6. Interlude: Brief Reflections on Jewish Humor --; Part II: Comic Forms of Expression --; 7. The Comic as Diversion: Benign Humor --; 8. The Comic as Consolation: Tragicomedy --; 9. The Comic as Game of Intellect: Wit --; 10. The Comic as Weapon: Satire --; 11. Interlude: The Eternal Return of Folly --; Part III: Toward a Theology of the Comic --; 12. The Folly of Redemption --; 13. Interlude: On Grim Theologians --; 14. The Comic as a Signal of Transcendence --; Epilogue
• Format: Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
• ISBN: 9783110354003; 9783110238570; 9783110238532; 9783110638080; 9783110369526; 9783110370416
• DOI: 10.1515/9783110354003
• Access: restricted access
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Peter L. Berger.

Amid the variety of human experiences, the comic occupies a distinctive place. It is simultaneously ubiquitous, relative, and fragile. In this book, Peter L. Berger reflects on the nature of the comic and its relationship to other human experiences. Berger contends that the comic is an integral aspect of human life, yet one that must be approached and analyzed circumspectly and circuitously. Beginning with an exploration of the anatomy of the comic, Berger addresses humor in philosophy, physiology, psychology, and the social sciences before turning to a discussion of different types of comedy and finally suggesting a theology of the comic in terms of its relationship to folly, redemption, and transcendence. Along the way, the reader is treated to a variety of jokes on a variety of topics, with particular emphasis on humor and its relationship to religion. Originally published in 1997, the second edition includes a new preface reflecting on Berger’s work in the intervening years, particularly on the relationship between humor and modernity.