ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS REGARDING THE USE AND ABUSE OF IRONY

Abstract

The analysis of the ethical implications concerning the use of irony is not an easy task. Even though there are notable differences between the various ironical expressions, it looks like irony in general plays with people’s emotions. Ironically, it seems that it gets them together and pulls them apart at the same time. Thus, whether we refer to philosophical or rhetorical irony, it is hard to say when is it morally right to turn into ridicule. Therefore, in this paper, considering Linda Hutcheon`s view on the edge of irony and Richard Rorty`s neo-pragmatist philosophy, we analyze the moral limits of ironization. We emphasize that, in some cases, the difference between the use and the abuse of irony is cancelled, the limit between innocent irony and real offence being almost inexistent. For this reason, we claim that irony is acceptable only in a culture that is opened to all ironic modalities, such as satire, parody, caricature, pamphlet and even humor.

Keywords

• irony
• ethics
• Socrates
• Linda Hutcheon