Sophy's Joke Cards - Ad Hominem

Dressing life in humorous clothing is an art that when applied with great care can entertain, teach, and motivate. However, humor applied poorly can damage innate receptivity, both for the person telling the joke and for the receiver of it. The audience's response is a critical component that can either release or restrict the experience of shared comedy. 


Conceptually, this illuminates our understanding as to why it is important to analyze jokes to death. My intention is to eliminate some of the impediments found in humor so that eventually we can all laugh together. 


Humor is acknowledged as subjective, which is its universal appeal. Any manmade construct of the mind that is shared on this scale, warrants serious consideration. The fact that this serious consideration can be applied to the world of humor, jokes, and comics, delights as it tickles my funny bone. Exploring and applying humor brings out, what I believe, is the very best in me. How more honest can one be than to be true to themselves. 

"Wittgenstein once said that a serious and philosophical work could be written that would consist entirely of jokes (without being facetious)." Malcolm, Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Memoir, p. 27 - 28. 

The below comic card is my best foot forward in the field of humor studies. Simple as it may be, it is indicative of a joke, a cosmic jest, if you will, that by laughing at ourselves, we give each other permission to do the same thing. 


Recognizing and not being hindered by the fallacies we have adopted throughout life in order to adapt to our world and our place in it, makes for a smoother life. As a sailor, who feels most at home on the water, I enjoy smooth sailing. While I've encountered some heavy swells on the sea of life, they didn't sink my boat. Anyone who has ever come face-to-face with a mammoth storm in their lives, will no doubt instinctively "get" from where I'm coming. 


Debunking humor and exposing the true nature of a joke allows us to more easily choose the ones we want to share and propagate. Rather than falling prey to the illusion that we laugh because something is "funny", debunking humor allows us laugh while remaining true to ourselves. Socially, we do not always recognize injustice, in particular if we have not been personally faced with another's version of it. For those of us who profoundly value solidarity, laughing together, rather than at each other, is very important. 


Given humor's power to connect people in shared laughter, understanding how to best do this is important. It's important to me because I only wish to propagate concepts and ideas that allow each of us to rise to the heights of our unencumbered potential. Look for the good and you'll find it, right? 


Keeping true to these values within myself, it is my pleasure to offer the world "a serious and philosophical work (which) could be written that would consist entirely of jokes."