Callousness as a kind of moral wrongdoing in humor

Fuente: Wiley Open Access
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Main Author: Paul Butterfield
Format: Artículo Open Access
Published: Wiley 2025
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author Paul Butterfield
author_facet Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield
collection Wiley Open Access
contents Callousness as a kind of moral wrongdoing in humor Paul Butterfield The Southern Journal of Philosophy AbstractThis article considers the options for moral criticism of joking speech. It denies that it is always appropriate to say, of socially offensive jokers, that they must have malicious intentions or bigoted beliefs—and, in the absence of this kind of claim, it searches for a more appropriate criticism of offensive humor. Ultimately, the article identifies callousness as the moral charge that can fairly be leveled at offensive jokers when they do not tell their jokes maliciously. Speakers who tell unflattering jokes about social groups are risking the reputation of their targets in order to induce comic amusement amongst their audiences. In doing so, these jokers can demonstrate a callous disregard for the esteem in which their targets are held by others. 10.1111/sjp.70021 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor
doi_str_mv 10.1111/sjp.70021
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institution Wiley Open Access
license_str_mv http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor
publishDate 2025
publisher Wiley
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spellingShingle Callousness as a kind of moral wrongdoing in humor
Paul Butterfield
The Southern Journal of Philosophy
Callousness as a kind of moral wrongdoing in humor Paul Butterfield The Southern Journal of Philosophy AbstractThis article considers the options for moral criticism of joking speech. It denies that it is always appropriate to say, of socially offensive jokers, that they must have malicious intentions or bigoted beliefs—and, in the absence of this kind of claim, it searches for a more appropriate criticism of offensive humor. Ultimately, the article identifies callousness as the moral charge that can fairly be leveled at offensive jokers when they do not tell their jokes maliciously. Speakers who tell unflattering jokes about social groups are risking the reputation of their targets in order to induce comic amusement amongst their audiences. In doing so, these jokers can demonstrate a callous disregard for the esteem in which their targets are held by others. 10.1111/sjp.70021 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor
title Callousness as a kind of moral wrongdoing in humor
topic The Southern Journal of Philosophy
url https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sjp.70021