Aristote et la théorie de l’humour

Abstract

Aristote, Théophraste, Plutarque, Rhétorique, Ethique à Nicomaque, This paper offers a reconstruction of Aristotle’s theory of humor, both descriptive and normative. In the first part, which focuses mainly on the third book of the Rhetoric, I show that the idea of "incongruity" is central to understanding what makes a word or expression "funny" or "humorous". In the second part, I attempt to reconstruct this theory from a normative point of view (relying above all on the chapter of the Nicomachean Ethics dedicated to the virtue of the "sense of humor"), with the central question, "what is a good joke".

Keywords

• Aristotle
• Theophrastus
• Plutarch
• Rhetoric
• Nicomachean Ethics
• humour