Abstract
This article presents a reflection on the concept of humour and related categories of the comic and irony found in the philosophical thought of Søren Kierkegaard. Humour – as the best expression of the comic – is rooted, according to the author of Either – Or, in contradictions inherent in existence. Metaphysically understood humour contains both elements of the comic and pathos, while contradictions are perceived here in a painless form, contrary to the tragic. Suffering resulting from contradictions of existence becomes deceptively suspended in the form of a joke. Humour understood in this way fits into the group of theories referred to in the literature on the subject as incongruity theories. According to the great Dane, humour occupies the transitory position between the ethical and religious lives, while irony occupies between the aesthetic and ethical stages, between the lack of moral commitment and full devotion to ethical values. Finally, the author recognises humour as a borderline phenomenon, positioned between the ethical life and transcending it to a higher level of the full religious life with its ultimate challenges.
Published Version
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