Technology is a laughing matter: Bergson, the comic and technology

Steffen Steinert*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    4 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    There seems to be no connection between philosophy of humor and the philosophy of technology. In this paper, I want to make the case that there is. I will pursue a twofold goal in this paper: First, I will take an account from one of the seminal figures in the philosophy of humor, Henri Bergson, and bring out its merits for a philosophy of technology. Bergson has never been fully appreciated as a philosopher of technology. I will fill this gap and show that Bergson’s account of the comic contains some interesting insights about our relation to technology. Second, I will show that humor and the comic open up a new perspective on technology that may facilitate new ways of thinking about our technological culture.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)201-208
    Number of pages8
    JournalAI and Society
    Volume32
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2017

    Keywords

    • Bergson
    • Humor
    • Laughter
    • Philosophy of humor
    • Philosophy of technology
    • The comic

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