Laughing at art: Humor, art, and morality.

摘要

Can ethically flawed humor in an artwork lessen its aesthetic value? In order to answer this question, we must explore three related issues. First, can ethical flaws affect the aesthetic value of an artwork? Second, is humor properly considered a goal of artworks that is relevant to judgments of aesthetic value? Third, can humor be ethically flawed and if so do ethical flaws adversely affect humorousness? The dissertation is divided into three major sections that grapple with these underlying issues.; Throughout the dissertation, I argue that ethical flaws with respect to humor in an artwork can lessen its aesthetic value. My overall argument is as follows:; Argument for comic moralism about art. (1) Ethical flaws can lessen the aesthetic value of an artwork. (moralism about art); (2) Humorousness can be relevant to an artwork's aesthetic value. (humor aestheticism); (3) Ethical flaws with attempts at humor can detract from their humorousness. (comic moralism ) (4) Hence, ethical flaws with respect to humor in art can lessen a work's aesthetic value. (comic moralism about art); In the Part I of the dissertation, I argue that ethical flaws can interfere with aesthetic properties, and thereby lessen the aesthetic value of an artwork. Moral flaws with a work of art can function as aesthetic defeaters---properties that prohibit the presence of aesthetic properties in a work of art.; In Part II, after discussing the major theories of humor, I argue that humor should be considered relevant to aesthetic evaluation for three independent reasons: humor is plausibly considered an aesthetic property; jokes and comics meet the conditions for art status; and either indirectly or directly, humor can contribute to the aesthetic value of an artwork.; In Part III, I argue that ethical flaws with attempts at humor can lessen their humorousness. If morally flawed attempts at humor fail because they arouse conflicting responses such as pity in suitable judges of an artwork, and the artwork would have benefited aesthetically from humor, the artwork is less aesthetically valuable.