Abstract

This chapter describes Immanuel Kant’s account of humor, with particular attention to its historical context. His views can be conceived of as a combination of incongruity, release, and superiority theories of humor. He combines these with his more original, mental play theory. The chapter discusses his views of the arts of laughter, comedy, and humor production as a possible fine art. It also examines whether Kant thinks laughter at humor could amount to an aesthetic judgment, and if so, what kind it would be. Finally, his views of the social, political, and ethical aspects of humor are examined.