humor
TagWhat Is a Practical Joke?
It’s April Fools Day—a day of jokey trickery, of practical jokes. (more…)
Just What Exactly Does Santa Know, and How? (guest post)
He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. What else does Santa Claus know, and how does he know it? (more…)
Which Philosophy Ideas Make for Good Costumes? (redux)
Are we making progress in philosophy? Or at least in philosophy-themed costumes? Here’s one way to find out. (more…)
“Fixing” the Definitions of Philosophical Terms
Sometimes, philosophical terms mean one thing, but sound like they really ought to mean something else. (more…)
On Being Seriously Funny (guest post)
“I got into philosophy at least partly because it was comic and that’s still much of what I enjoy about it.” (more…)
The Philosophical Lexicon (updated)
A commenter the other day used “chisholm” as a verb, reminding me that it has been a while since The Philosophical Lexicon has made the rounds (or so it seems to me). (more…)
“In This House, We Believe”: Philosopher Edition
Having trouble figuring out what to get the philosopher in your life? How about a trendy yard sign customized with their philosophical views? You seem skeptical, but Douglas Portmore (ASU) was the recipient of one of these from an (as-of-yet) unidentified gift-giving genius. Check it out: (more…)
Analytic Philosophy’s Best Unintentional (?) Self-Parodying (updated)
“Someone, let’s say a baby, is born; his parents call him by a certain name.” (more…)
When the Text Tickles You
Every once in a while it happens. (more…)
Mini-Heap
Links of the day… (more…)
Bits of Laughing Matter (guest post)
Gerald Dworkin, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of California, Davis, seeks out philosophical humor and has put together a couple of volumes of it (see here). (more…)
Collective Nouns for Philosophers by Area of Specialization
A murder of crows. A cackle of hyenas. A knot of toads. A confusion of philosophers? Or is it a fog of philosophers? Or…? There was some discussion of what we should call a collection of philosophers here several years ago. (more…)
Types of __________ Papers (updated)
Last week, Randall Munroe, author of the famed webcomic xkcd published a comic about “Types of Scientific Paper“: (more…)
Another Mini-Heap
Yet more for the Heap… (more…)
Absurdist Video Edits of Philosophers Talking
Saul Kripke, Kit Fine, Timothy Williamson, John McDowell, Jonathan Schaffer, Graham Priest, Robert Brandom, and other philosophers are the unwitting stars of films created by an unknown YouTuber who is editing footage of them speaking in order to produce bizarre montages, shorts with augmented visuals and music, and other strange and funny videos. (more…)
Philosopharmacology
A few months ago I learned about the brilliant conceptual artwork of Dana Wyse. Since the mid 1990s she has been producing a series of fake pharmaceuticals packaged to look as if they were supposed to be sold at a convenience store in the 1970s or ordered from the back of a magazine or comic book. And she actually sells them—mainly at museum shops and now online. ..
More Philosophy Songs
“Knowledge of the world relies / On what we can see / But experience implies / Nothing yet to be.”
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Philosophy Reality TV
Philosophy has had turns on television talk shows, sitcoms, and sci-fi dramas, but a recent news item might prompt thoughts of the possibility of a philosophy-themed reality-TV show. (more…)
The Status of “Philosophy Labs” this Fall
Mohamed Mehdi, chair of the Department of Humanities and Philosophy at Oakton Community College, updated his faculty on the plans regarding their “philosophy labs” for this coming fall. (more…)
New Voice in the Philosophy-Themed Music Scene
Philosophy-themed music is not the most popular genre, but it shares a lot of the same features of any type of music. (more…)
A Professor’s Video for her Suddenly Online Students, And…
Julia Strand, assistant professor of psychology at Carleton College, is one of many faculty whose courses were abruptly moved online because of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. (more…)
Philosophers’ Scary Nicknames: A Halloween Game
Happy Halloween, philosofriends! To celebrate, I thought we could come up with scary nicknames for well-known philosophers. But there are some rules on how to do it… (more…)
Philosophers’ Pick-Up Lines
“I didn’t know that angels could fly so low. Or that angels even existed anymore now that God is dead… amiright???” (more…)
The Impossibility of Immigrants Refusing to Integrate into British Society (guest post by Hasko Von Kriegstein)
The following is a guest post* by Hasko Von Kriegstein, an assistant professor in the Department of Law & Business at Ryerson University, regarding matters related to Brexit. (more…)
Game of Thrones Quotes for Academic Contexts
Game of Thrones, a well-acted and beautifully filmed sprawling television fantasy of political ambition, royal lineage, revenge, zombies, surprising deaths, random magic, and dragons—entertaining and big but also silly and superficial—is ending tonight. People can’t stop talking about it.
A Parody Issue of Mind… from 118 Years Ago (Updated)
Some people worry that philosophers keep asking the same questions over and over again. If you think that’s bad, you may be upset to learn that philosophers keep telling the same jokes over and over again. (more…)
Mini-Heap!
Yet another Mini-Heap! (more…)
Topic-Appropriate Excuses for Plagiarism in Philosophy Papers
For a paper on time travel: “I didn’t plagiarize David Lewis’s 1976 American Philosophical Quarterly paper. In 1975, he traveled to the future and plagiarized me!”
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