“We Are All Mad Here”: Santayana and the Significance of Humor

Contemporary Pragmatism 2 (2):73-83 (2005)
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Abstract

Humor is an indispensable element of George Santayana's philosophy. Santayana is, in many ways, philosophy's fool, poking fun at endeavors to obtain epistemological and moral mastery over existence. Moreover, he reminds us of the over-arching benefits of a humorous attitude, suggesting a humility by which we may put into relative perspective our otherwise totalizing aspirations and pursue a moral life without succumbing to moralism. Ultimately, a sense of humor reminds us that comedy is as honest a narrative as tragedy and that the benefit in living is the fun of it

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Jessica Wahman
Emory University

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References found in this work

The sense of beauty.George Santayana - 1896 - New York,: Dover Publications.
Scepticism and Animal Faith.Marten Ten Hoor & George Santayana - 1923 - Journal of Philosophy 20 (24):653.
The Sense of Beauty.G. Santayana - 1897 - Philosophical Review 6:210.
Scepticism and Animal Faith.George Santayana & Suzanne K. Langer - 1956 - Les Etudes Philosophiques 11 (2):364-364.

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