mls@cbnewsm.ATT.COM (mike.siemon) (02/03/90)
In article <EJE1I72xds8@ficc.uu.net>, jeffd@ficc.uu.net (jeff daiell) writes: > I'd like this person to give a rational explanation of why he finds > Objectivism hilarious. One of the classic studies of laughter (from a philosophic viewpoint :-) was by Bergson. In brief, he suggested that we consider humorous those behaviors or situations in which human beings are seen as "mechanical" (or in more modern idiom, programmed) where a normal onlooker sees the mechanism as inappropriate. Case closed. -- Michael L. Siemon As grain once scattered on the hillside cucard!dasys1!mls Was in this broken break made one, att!sfbat!mls So from all lands thy church be gathered standard disclaimer Into thy kingdom by thy son.
djones@megatest.UUCP (Dave Jones) (02/03/90)
In article <EJE1I72xds8@ficc.uu.net>, jeffd@ficc.uu.net (jeff daiell) writes: > > I'd like this person to give a rational explanation of why he finds > Objectivism hilarious. > I wasn't the person, so I can only guess. But then do we ever really know why we have the emotional responses we do? Do we ever know why we think the things we do? Even in reasonable people, reason is only a small part of it. We know more about dung beetles than we do about the working of the human brain. Well I personally don't know all that much about dung beetles, but let's not quibble over details. What I am getting around to is that it is impossible to give a "rational explanation" of hilarity. But then that never stopped me before, eh? So my conjecture as to why he thinks it's funny, is that he sees the Objectivist as a silly person who believes himself quite profound. No doubt it would be unfair to suggest that all objectivists are like that, but it can happen. I mentioned in another posting that I was once an Objectivist. I had a subscription to the Objectivist, and could quote Ayn Rand chapter and verse. And yes, it happened to me. A couple of years ago I was visting my parents, who brought out some old photos. One of them was about the most embarrassing object I have ever had the misfortune to view. It was taken during my Objectivist period. I was about twenty-one years old, wearing a tweed jacket with those leather academician patches on the elbows, wearing a pipe in my emaciated face, the chin of which was partially obscured by a Van Dyke beard which bore a more than passing resemblance to grape-mold, and was looking down my nose with a confident air of absolute intellectual supremacy. I think that may be the sort of thing he had in mind. Everybody else thought it was a real hoot. A guaranteed crowd pleaser.