BY SEAN WALSH “A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes” – Ludwig Wittgenstein. * “Man is the only animal that laughs…for he is the only animal that is struck by the difference between what things are and what they ought to be” – William Hazlitt. We have been told that it would be unfair to take any pleasure in … Continue reading Why The Left Hates Laughter
BY JOE NUTT I wish I could have a good laugh. I really, really miss it. It feels like years since I enjoyed the kind of unbridled, spontaneous hilarity that was a familiar part of my experience growing up in what we have all recently come to appreciate is indeed a sceptred isle. I certainly used to feel I belonged to a happy breed. But … Continue reading Dying Without Laughter
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN There’s a well-known anecdote from the Soviet Union: A judge walks out of his chambers laughing his head off. A colleague approaches him and asks why he is laughing. “I just heard the funniest joke in the world!” “Well, go ahead, tell me!” says the other judge. “I can’t – I just gave someone ten years for it!” There’s a similarity in … Continue reading They Can’t Laugh Back
