Democritus, The Laughing Philosopher

Monte Ransome Johnson

doi:10.1515/phhumyb-2024-0001

Article

Democritus, The Laughing Philosopher

Monte Ransome Johnson
University of California, San Diego, USA;

Published/Copyright: June 11, 2024

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From the journal The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook Volume 5 Issue 1

Abstract

I argue that a circa first century B.C./A.D. anonymous epistolary comic novel depicting a fictional interaction between Hippocrates of Cos and Democritus of Abdera contains an insightful imitation of Democritus that can cast light on the historical Democritus’s thought, including his thought on the touchy subject of appropriate and inappropriate laughter. The only thing certain about Democritus’s view of laughter is that he denounced laughter at human misfortune as inappropriate. The later legend of him as laughing at everything and everyone indiscriminately is a later distortion of his view which the author of the comic novel seems concerned to counteract.

Keywords: Democritus; Hippocrates; laughter; melancholy; euthumia; tranquility; ataraxia; Abdera; letters; ethics

About the author

Monte Ransome Johnson

University of California, San Diego, USA;

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Published Online: 2024-06-11

Published in Print: 2024-06-11

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https://doi.org/10.1515/phhumyb-2024-0001

Keywords for this article

Democritus; Hippocrates; laughter; melancholy; euthumia; tranquility; ataraxia; Abdera; letters; ethics