Author: Huenemann

… can be found here. This time the focus is on comedy in philosophy, or philosophy jokes, or philosophical satire. There are some interesting links, though I wish someone would treat the philosophy of humor with the seriousness it deserves.

To what extent might philosophy require humor, satire, and buffoonery? It seems to me that there is a kind of skepticism that is built on satire. It’s a simple as the Dr. Phil question: “how’s that working out for you?” Imagine Kant laying out the categorical imperative at length, only to be faced with that question. The question undercuts his whole enterprise, in the sense that it trades upon viewing his moral philosophy as a kind of psychological coping mechanism, and raises the question whether a moral philosophy, at bottom, is anything more than that.

There, I just spoiled a good line. doesn’t the fact that I spoiled it reveal something about the significance of satire for philosophy?

Some new Philosophy Cafe essays are posted now, on Aristotle and emptiness, Darwin, the big bang, and the ethics of experimental drugs. check them out here.

The new Philosophers’ Carnival can be found here. It includes links to several interesting discussions around the web on philosophical topics, including whether the universe cares about anything (no), free will and evil, and a long list of all the titles published under the heading of popular culture and philosophy, which is somewhat astonishing.

I’d love to hear what people have to say in response to this provocative essay, which includes the following:

Here in the West, the so-called ‘war on global warming’ is reminiscent of medieval madness. You can now buy Indulgences to offset your carbon guilt. If you fly, you give an extra 10 quid to British Airways; BA hands it on to some non-profit carbon-offsetting company which sticks the money in its pocket and goes off for lunch. This kind of behaviour is demented.