Description: "Commonly regarded as one of the most serious philosophers of all time (this is a man who took his daily walk at precisely the same time each day), Kant's Humorous Writings explores a dimension of Kant's work that has hitherto been almost entirely ignored but which casts his philosophy into a new light. With entirely new translations of Kant's bon mots, quips, and anecdotes, supplemented by historical commentary and numerous illustrations, this guide outlines just why these pieces were important to both the man and his work"--
Brief description: Robert R. Clewis teaches philosophy and is Associate Director of the Honors Program at Gwynedd Mercy University, USA. He is author of The Kantian Sublime and the Revelation of Freedom (2009), a translator in Kant's Lectures on Anthropology (2012), and editor of Reading Kant's Lectures (2015) and The Sublime Reader (Bloomsbury, 2019).
Review Quotes:
"For many readers, 'Kant' and 'humor' are two words that do not belong together in the same sentence. But in his detailed and engaging study, Robert Clewis gives the lie to this popular prejudice. The sage of Königsberg was both a fairly serious theorist of humor as well as a teacher who often sought to enliven his lectures with a good joke or two." --Robert B. Louden, Distinguished Professor and Professor of Philosophy, University of Southern Maine, USA
"Kant scholarship meets humor research-what a delightful surprise! Drawing on Kant's writings and notes taken by his students, Clewis evaluates thirty of Kant's jokes, stories, and observations to discuss his philosophy of humor. Along the way, he gets into what's wrong with bad puns and why the English are better at comedy than the French. His treatment of Kant's ethics of humor and his understanding of it as an aesthetic experience are especially insightful. I've been researching humor for forty years and found new ideas in every chapter." --John Morreall, author of "Taking Laughter Seriously" and "Comic Relief: A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor"