Dangerous jokes : how racism and sexism weaponize humor /
"In this book, Claire Horisk argues that the real problem with so-called offensive jokes-such as racist, sexist, and ethnic jokes-is not that they are offensive but that they are harmful, because they transmit and reinforce stereotypes and ideas that contribute to a network of unjust disadvanta...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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New York, NY :
Oxford University Press,
[2024]
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| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
Table of Contents:
- Why this book about jokes contains so few jokes
- Slurs and expletives in court transcripts
- Professional comedy
- The terms 'speaker' and 'hearer'
- Singular 'they'
- A note for philosophers and linguists
- Acknowledgments
- 1. Why joking matters
- Introduction
- Jokes are funny peculiar
- How philosophy can help
- Jokes versus joking remarks
- The ethics of joking and cultural limitations
- Jokes that cross the line
- Derogatory jokes and implication
- Derogatory jocular remarks and intent
- Humor and harm
- Guilty listeners
- Conclusion
- 2. The popular wisdom about jokes
- Introduction
- Jokes and harm in popular wisdom
- Harm versus offense
- Audiences in popular wisdom
- Jokers in popular wisdom
- Is the popular wisdom consistent?
- Conclusion
- 3. Is the popular wisdom supported by science?
- Introduction
- How can jokes be assessed in moral terms?
- Are belittling jokes harmless fun?
- Assessing Wrong Audience and Wrong Joker
- Conclusion
- 4. Crossing a line
- Introduction
- How derogatory jokes and joking remarks differ
- Derogating, disparaging, and belittling
- Moral concern about (merely) disparaging humor
- Jokes that do not derogate
- Conclusion
- 5. How do jokes communicate ideas?
- Introduction
- What are generalized implicatures?
- Reinforcement and cancelation
- Using implicature to mislead and insinuate
- Explaining Wrong Audience
- Explaining Wrong Joker
- Troubleshooting: 'Missing' implicatures
- Troubleshooting: Unconvincing cancelations
- Conclusion
- 6. Humor and hostility
- Introduction
- Dual-process theories of cognition
- How a good mood affects cognitive processing
- Troubleshooting: Why is neutral humor harmless?
- How might humor influence cognitive processing?
- How amusement affects the common ground
- Dual cognitive processes and the Wrong Audience
- Conclusion
- 7. Joking remarks and joking intentions
- Introduction
- Two definitions of 'joking'
- Jocular remarks and the warranty of truth
- Does truth-in-jest have a warranty of truth?
- Channeling the common ground
- The common ground and the ambiguity of humor
- Conclusion
- 8. Listener culpability
- Introduction
- What is listening?
- Being part of a conversation
- Being part of a conversation and the common ground
- There is no hidden common ground
- Public humiliation
- Good listeners and ethical listeners
- Bystanders
- Conclusion
- 9. Finding derogatory jokes amusing
- Introduction
- What kind of person is amused by derogatory jokes?
- Am I morally responsible for being amused?
- Awareness of derogatory ideas in a conversation
- What is acceptance?
- Acceptance and presupposition
- Willingness to accept
- Why amusement is correlated with social identity
- Why amusement is correlated with derogatory belief