Side bar:

I just googled philosophy cartoon and there was some fun. Not all, but some.

I tend to see the funny side of real things rather than contrived things. — Tom Storm

I'm sorry to break this news, Tom Storm, but that may be the first step on a road to becoming a stand-up comedian. The second step is wanting to share it with everyone. You're almost there - despite yourself... :wink:

Popper was about to get his medal from the queen. With a smiling face he approached her to receive his royal title. Then roaring stumble was heard and one of the royal guards came running in wildly gesturing and shouting that the ceremony should be stopped. "Hoooold them horses"! Popper got nervous. He loosened his tie and watched what happened. The guard shouted in stacatto: "Your majesty! Scientists have found ir-re-fu-table proof! Falsification is no rule!" Popper gestured the queen to not pay attention and just give him the title and the fucking medal. "Instead she addressed him: Is this true, sr Popper?" Popper looked terrified and told her that he didn't know on Earth what the guard was talking about. The queen took Popper in with the examining face of a detective. She then shook her head. "No Sir! And don't even try to falsify that!" Upon which Popper smacked her in the face. "Yes my queen, you are absolutely right! I am No Sir!"

I find Existential Comics to be laugh out loud funny on a regular basis. Here is Camus Teaches Elementary School.

I donate money through Patreon and I would encourage all readers/participants of TPF to do likewise. It's a helpful antidote to the intense seriousness of many of these discussions.

A simple remark: It's quite weird that you brought up Wittgenstein in relation to humor! He's one of the most tragic figures I have ever seen in philosophy! The guy was highly depressive. (You can easily see that in almost all of his photos, while reading his statement "a serious and good philosophical work could be written that would consist entirely of jokes"! This is a joke in itself!)

what's happened to humor in philosophy? — Cuthbert

I think the same thing that has happened to all sectors in life: politics, science, etc. Except maybe in stand-up comedy and comedy movies (romantic and pure comedies), but even there, humor has deteriorated. Compare, e.g. comedy movies of the first half of the 20th c. with the those of today. I certainly laugh much more with old comedies. Of course, quality was a much strong criterion for a movie to get into the market than it is now. Abundance destroys quality. Maybe the same happens with philosophy.

So, I don't know if philosophers suffer from lack of humor more than other professions. Doctors, for instance, are horrible when comes to humor. Usually, they don't even respond to humor. They are too "tight". Lawyers are a little "looser". Teachers: Looking back in my school and college period, I can find a handful only of teachers that could be called humorous. Too tight too. Most politicians are too serious. And so on.

Then, humor of course is quite subjective. So, one has to do a survey, asking people: "Has humor been diminished or deteriorated in relation to the past?" If this is true for most people (to a marked degree), then one can safely accept it as a fact.

Anyway, the only way to preserve humor is to keep it alive! :smile:

"What do Nihilists have to say about Nihilism? If it was not for Nihilism, they would have nothing to believe in."

:lol: