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“You Must Be Joking!”: Theory, Religion, and The Domestication of the Ludic

  • Nicholas Low

    Harvard Divinity School, USA;

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Published/Copyright: June 11, 2024
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Abstract

This article traces the valuation of the ludic themes of laughter and play in the work of Jonathan Z. Smith, as debated by two of his interpreters. The question at stake is whether “religious” or “secular” thinking is more playful and open to humor. Sam Gill argues that a special form of play animates both certain forms of religion as well as an ideal form of secular theory. Tyler Roberts counters that Gill “domesticates” the ludic, and in doing so misconstrues the playfulness of religion. However, lurking behind the religious/secular dichotomy is a more fundamental question about the nature of the ludic, and what sort of power it possesses to transform human life. I show that the claim that theory is “secular” stabilizes certain ontological parameters about what human life could be. I turn finally to Nietzsche to interrogate an expression of ludic thought that pushes decisively beyond the human.

About the author

Nicholas Low

Harvard Divinity School, USA;

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Published Online: 2024-06-11
Published in Print: 2024-06-11

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Titlepages
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Articles
  5. Democritus, The Laughing Philosopher
  6. The Contemptuous Laughter of Democritus and Nietzsche
  7. A Joke: On the Plurality of Worlds and Ostrichist
  8. Joke Capital vs. Punching Up/Punching Down: Accounting for the Ethical Relation between Joker and Target
  9. Humanistic Ethics of Humor: The Problematics of Punching Up and Kicking Down
  10. “You Must Be Joking!”: Theory, Religion, and The Domestication of the Ludic
  11. Humor in Chinese Traditions of Thought, Part One: Systematic Reflections in View of Ancient Confucian and Daoist Applications of Humor
  12. Discussion: Short Article for Further Debate
  13. Discussion: Short Article for Further Debate   Edited by John Marmysz
  14. The Shared Presupposition Norm of Joking: A Philosophical Exploration
  15. “I Finally Got the Joke”
  16. Do Joke-Telling Norms Apply to Laughtivism?
  17. “I’m Only Human”: A Self-Referential Sense of Humor and Meaningful Living
  18. Philosophical Satire and Criticism
  19. Philosophical Satire and Criticism   Edited by Steven Gimbel
  20. Recaptioning Cartoons from Historical Turkish Humor Magazines as Feminist Media Activism: The Case of Boşboğaz
  21. Humor in Philosophy Education
  22. Humor in Philosophy Education   Edited by Christine A. James
  23. How Can Philosophy Improve Your Sense of Humor?
  24. Symposium
  25. Symposium   Edited by Steven Gimbel   Dustin Peone. Making Philosophy Laugh: Humor, Irony, and Folly in Philosophical Thought. Cascade Books, 2023. pp. 158.   Critics
  26. In Search of a Lost Philosophical Humor
  27. The Moment of Laughter
  28. On Making Philosophy Laugh
  29. “Where the enemy is mighty, one must be clever”: Peone, Vico, and Guareschi on Power in Humor
  30. Author’s Response
  31. Author’s Response
  32. Humor Resartus
  33. Book Reviews
  34. Book Reviews   Edited by Lydia Amir With Pierre Destrée (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) and John Marmysz (Modern and Contemporary Philosophy)
  35. Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
  36. Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
  37. Call for Papers
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