You ve Got To Be Kidding: How Jokes Can Help You Think - Hardcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

John Capps is an associate professor of philosophy at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Senior Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts.  He has written many articles on the history of American philosophy, pragmatism, and science education.

Donald Capps is a professor in psychology of religion at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the author of more than 20 books, including A Time to Laugh: The Religion of Humor (2005).

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You've Got to Be Kidding! How Jokes Can Help You Think focuses on a single, core issue at the heart of philosophy: our ability to think critically. The authors, a father and son team of distinguished professors, aren't kidding around when they show us that jokes illustrate the various ways in which the thinking process goes awry. They argue that jokes “work” (we laugh) by invoking standards of rational thinking that are violated by the joke itself. They also reveal that many jokes assume certain fundamental ethical and moral truths, and what makes them amusing or funny is when one of these truths is violated. The punch line, of course, is that jokes are an invaluable resource for discussing issues of objective truth and for thinking critically about values. They also suggest that thinking critically is often a collaborative process, and that thinking often goes awry when one tries to “go it alone.” You've Got to Be Kidding! is a thoughtful and accessible analysis of the ways jokes illustrate how we think critically -- and that's no laughing matter!