"Humor is the twinkle in the eye of a just judge, who knows that he is also the felon in the dock."
Basically, the virtue of humor is the ability to understand even your worst enemies. Is this just a form of cynicism?
"Humor is the twinkle in the eye of a just judge, who knows that he is also the felon in the dock."
Basically, the virtue of humor is the ability to understand even your worst enemies. Is this just a form of cynicism?
“the sense of being which in calm hours arises, we know not how, in the soul, is not diverse from things, from space, from light, from time, from man, but one with them and proceeds obviously from the same source.... Here is the fountain of action and of thought....
The self-righteousness turns humor into scarcasm. Irony can be humorous without being hostile because as the quote suggests the just judge can also empathize with the felon in the dock. I don't know where cynicism fits in all this.
I don't see where self-righteousness come in. Self-righteous people tend to be the most humorless folks I know.
I am very self-righteous and have a lot of humor when my dear Seal Team 6 makes arses go up in flames.Originally Posted by AuntShecky
There are about 165 USA nuclear submarines patrolling the oceans. Have you ever taken a look at the immense humor they display?
the origin of cynicism comes from ancient greece, where the Cynics valued only the pursuit of virtue by means of a simple and unmaterialistic way of life. this is precisely what the judge advocates, realizing that life is just a game and at any moment he could be the accused rather than the accuser. it's a simple and unmaterialistic perception of reality.
this form of cynicism is the a loving form, one that reduces human conflicts through understanding. war wouldn't really be an issue if everyone tried to understand where their enemies were coming from. there would certainly be arguments, but there would be a cap at which moral violence would not exceed (bombing each other to oblivion).
“the sense of being which in calm hours arises, we know not how, in the soul, is not diverse from things, from space, from light, from time, from man, but one with them and proceeds obviously from the same source.... Here is the fountain of action and of thought....
I usually think of cynics as being cynical, which might be closer to sarcastic than ironical. I see you are bringing in perhaps the original idea of the word.
Non-sarcastic humor seems more empathetic than cynical.
Diogenes, the founder of Cynicsm, appears to have had a sense of humor. He lived in a barrel, and ate nothing but lentils. One day, his philopher friend Aristippus said to him, "If you would learn to flatter the king, you would not have to live in a barrel and eat nothing but lentils."
"And it you would learn to live in a barrel and eat nothing but lentils," replied Diogenes, "You would not have to flatter the king."
Thank you for quoting that. I think it speaks levels to how important a virtue humor is.
“the sense of being which in calm hours arises, we know not how, in the soul, is not diverse from things, from space, from light, from time, from man, but one with them and proceeds obviously from the same source.... Here is the fountain of action and of thought....
Why does the word "cynic" come from the Greek word for dog?
If, after a meal of lentils, Diogenes had an audience with the King, he must've been a barrel o' laughs. It would have been like the classical Greek version of the campfire scene in Blazing Saddles.
Last edited by AuntShecky; 05-23-2013 at 05:04 PM.
what is the greek word for dog?
“the sense of being which in calm hours arises, we know not how, in the soul, is not diverse from things, from space, from light, from time, from man, but one with them and proceeds obviously from the same source.... Here is the fountain of action and of thought....
Here are a couple of competing explanations for the derivation of the term:
http://www.iep.utm.edu/cynics/#H1
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