Steven Gimbel, “Isn’t That Clever: A Philosophical Account of Humor and Comedy” (Routledge, 2018)
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What is the central premise of Steven Gimbel’s book *Isn’t That Clever*?
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Hello, thanks for joining us for this episode of New Books in Philosophy. I'm Robert Talise, I'm professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. I co host the program with Carrie Figner. Carrie is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Iowa. My guest today is Steve Gimbel. Steve is professor of philosophy and former Edwin T. Johnson and Cynthia Shearer Johnson Distinguished Teaching Chair in the Humanities. At Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. Steve works in a broad range of subfields, from philosophy of physics to ethics. And his latest book shows that his research extends even further than this. His new book is titled Isn't That Clever? A philosophical account of humor and comedy was published earlier this year by Routledge.
Now humor and and its related phenomena jesting, joking around, goofing and so on. pervade the human experience and are plausibly regarded as necessary features of interpersonal interactions. As one would expect, these pervasive phenomena occasioned philosophical questions. What renders some item or event humorous? Are funny jokes objectively funny? As humor is a mode of interacting with others, can it be deployed irresponsibly? Can it be harmful and impermissible? What's the relation we might ask between humor and comedy? What's a comedian? So in his new book, Stephen Gimbal presents a philosophical account of humor that addresses many of the aforementioned questions. He develops a view according to which an act is humorous if and only if it is a conspicuous, intentional act of playful cleverness.
This account of humor then enables Gimbal to address a full palette of questions concerning jokes, comedy and the behavior of professional comedians. As usual, there's a lot to talk about. But also as usual, let's begin with the guest. Hey Steve. How you doing? I'm doing all right. How are you? Oh, it is
great, great, great to be with you.
Well, fabulous. Um, why don't you start us off by telling us a little bit about yourself?
So I Am a philosopher of physics when I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but I have tenure, so I don't have to do what I'm supposed to be doing. Uh I've been a a comedy nerd my whole life since I was a a little kid and found my my dad's George Carlin and Alan Sherman albums. And I was living a normal life as a philosopher until I turned forty. Now I'm not I don't know if the whole midlife crisis thing is real or not, but I decided I was gonna try to cut it off at the pass. And so I thought, okay, what am I gonna do? And I thought, well, you know I teach ethics, so you know, unaffair is just out. You know, I I drive so slowly that Amish people give me the finger, so you know, uh a sports car would just be ironic.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the central premise of Steven Gimbel’s book *Isn’t That Clever*?
0:00–9:13
2
How does Gimbel define a humorous act as “conspicuous, intentional playful cleverness”?
9:13–17:46
3
Why does Gimbel argue that humor is an objective fact rather than merely subjective taste?
17:46–26:41
4
What role do conversational power dynamics play in the structure of a joke?
26:41–34:38
5
How does virtue epistemology explain why cleverness matters in comedy?
34:38–42:35
6
When is a joke considered “pure” versus “impure,” and what ethical implications follow?
42:35–50:40
7
What ethical challenges arise from hecklers and how should comedians respond?
50:40–59:29
8
What are the key take‑aways about humor, comedy, and their moral limits from this conversation?
59:29–1:05:48
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from New Books in Philosophy
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