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Senses of Humor as Political Virtues
Author(s) -
Deen Phillip
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
metaphilosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1467-9973
pISSN - 0026-1068
DOI - 10.1111/meta.12297
Subject(s) - prudence , virtue , politics , power (physics) , economic justice , common sense , sociology , humor research , epistemology , aesthetics , environmental ethics , law , psychology , social psychology , philosophy , political science , physics , quantum mechanics
This article discusses whether a sense of humor is a political virtue. It argues that a sense of humor is conducive to the central political virtues. We must first, however, delineate different types of humor (benevolent or malicious) and the different political virtues (sociability, prudence, and justice) to which they correspond. Generally speaking, a sense of humor is politically virtuous when it encourages good will toward fellow citizens, an awareness of the limits of power, and a tendency not to take oneself too seriously or when it condemns moral or intellectual vice. An analysis of President Donald Trump's deeply flawed sense of humor is used to ground this account.