POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF HUMOR
POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF HUMOR

Summary/Abstract: This paper discusses some political implications of humor, using as a point of departure the mechanisms that explain the sources of the comical. First, I briefly present the main explanations offered for why we laugh. I then focus on the cognitive view proposed Hurley, Dennett and Adams, according to which humor carries out the epistemic function of eliminating the errors that covert‑ ly entered a mental space. In the second section of the paper, I present two ac‑ counts of how liberalism continues to extend the scope of individual liberties. I use these views on liberalism as a background for my analysis of the politi‑ cal implications of humor, advancing the claim that, as a result of its epistemic function, humor has a strong conservative bias.

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