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summary
“Bravo! I’ll say nothing funny about it, for it is a
superior piece of work.”
—P. J. O’Rourke

“F. H. Buckley’s The Morality of Laughter is at once
a humorous look at serious matters and a serious
book about humor.”
Crisis Magazine

“Buckley has written a . ne and funny book that will
be read with pleasure and instruction.”
First Things

“. . . written elegantly and often wittily. . . .”
National Post

“. . . a fascinating philosophical exposition of
laughter. . . .”
National Review

“. . . at once a wise and highly amusing book.”
Wall Street Journal Online

“. . . a useful reminder that a cheery society is a
healthy one.”
Weekly Standard

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
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  1. Frontmatter
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  1. Contents
  2. pp. vii-viii
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  1. Preface
  2. pp. ix-xv
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  1. Part I. THE POSITIVE THESIS
  1. 1. Laughter as Superiority: Hobbes and Bergson • The Normative Foundation Laughter as a Signal
  2. pp. 3-15
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  1. 2. The Elements of Laughter: Sociability • Surprise • Playfulness
  2. pp. 16-28
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  1. 3. The One Necessary Thing: Incongruity and Wordplay Relief and Exuberant Laughter • Innocent Laughter The Absurd and Postmodernism • Self-Deprecatory Humor
  2. pp. 29-46
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  1. Part II. THE NORMATIVE THESIS
  1. 4. Objections to the Normative Thesis: The Paradox of Satire • Excessive Laughter The Hobbesian Paradox • Vicious Laughter
  2. pp. 49-59
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  1. 5. Comic Virtues and Vices: The Rose-Wreath Crown • The Gay Science Comic Norms
  2. pp. 60-86
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  1. 6. The Social Virtues: Integrity • Moderation Fortitude • Temperance
  2. pp. 87-107
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  1. 7. The Charismatic Virtues: Grace • Taste • Learning
  2. pp. 108-118
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  1. 8. Machine Law: Risible Law • Kreimer v. Morristown • The Sick Chickens Case
  2. pp. 119-128
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  1. 9. Machine Scholarship: Analytical Philosophy • Zombies as Machine Men Machine Political Theory • Baby Selling
  2. pp. 129-142
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  1. 10. Machine Art and Machine Cities: Machine Art • Machine Cities
  2. pp. 143-169
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  1. Part III. THE EXPERIENCE OF LAUGHTER
  1. 11. The Battle of the Norms: Judgment Errors • Large Numbers Perverse Norms and Factual Errors • Uncertainty
  2. pp. 155-163
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  1. 12. Resistance to Laughter: Vanity • Acedia • The Cynic The Faustian Bargain • The Puritan
  2. pp. 164-177
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  1. 13. The Sociability Thesis: Signaling Trustworthiness A Communitarian Perspective
  2. pp. 178-190
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  1. 14. Conclusion: Life Considered as a Fine Art The Dream of a Uni‹ed Field
  2. pp. 191-200
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  1. Notes
  2. pp. 201-218
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  1. Bibliography
  2. pp. 219-234
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  1. Index
  2. pp. 235-240
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