Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic (Dover Books on Western Philosophy)
by Henri Bergson

List Price: $6.95
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

or

Compare Prices for Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic (Dover Books on Western Philosophy)

Book Summary Information

• ISBN13: 9780486443805
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Book Reviews of Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic (Dover Books on Western Philosophy)

Book Review: Early, provocative, but slight work on the subject.
Summary: 4 Stars

Summary of Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic (Dover Books on Western Philosophy)

Bergson's thinking typifies a peculiarly Gallic tendency to rationalize the apparently ephemeral and subjective (in this case, humor), discussing it in exquisitely rarefied language in order to assert that which defies common sense (a funny hat is not funny, laughter expresses no emotion, no one laughs alone) but partakes nonetheless of a logical inevitability. Laughter, first published in 1911, clearly draws upon the early years of European modernism, yet also prefigures the movement in some ways. In recognizing the comic as it embodies itself in a "rigid," absentminded person, locked into repetitious, socially awkward behavior, Bergson--even as he looks backward, primarily to Moli?re--seems to be spawning the sophisticated visual and physical comedy of Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd; the transformation of L?ger's figures into anthropoid machines; and Nijinsky's starring role in Stravinsky's satirical clockwork ballet P?trouchka.

This little book resurrects a British translation that has long been out of print. While Laughter won't quite explain why the French love Jerry Lewis, or keep you in stitches, it's a bracing read that will make you think twice about laughing the next time someone stumbles into a lamppost. --Robert Burns Neveldine

Emotions Books