|
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||
|
JEWISH PHILOSOPHY |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
by Joseph Albo
"Laughter" (Heb. sehok) is a homonymous term. It applies to joy, as in the expression, "Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed." Here "laughed" means "was glad," as is also the interpretation of Onkelos. Laughter may also denote scorn, as in the expression, "I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbor." And sometimes laughter and scorn are combined, and the words are used synonymously, as in the expression, "He that sitteth in heaven laugheth, the Lord hath them in derision," for laughter is often due to the feeling of contempt for that which deserves it, as when a person observes a defect in the words or deeds of another, while being conscious of superiority in himself, as not likely to err in word or deed as his neighbor has done. Thus laughter arises from the feeling of contempt when he observes his neighbor doing or saying something that is unbecoming to human nature or the person's dignity. In the same way, laughter and derision are ascribed to God in the expression, "He that sitteth in heaven laugheth, the Lord hath them in derision." The reason is because He hears them saying, "let us break their bands asunder," words a human being should not use; as our Rabbis say: The reason that the Psalm of Absalom stands next to that dealing with God and Magog, is that if any one should say, Is it possible that a servant should revel against his master? you say to him, Is it possible that a son should rebel against his father? And yet the latter actually happened, so the former will happen. It is clear from this that it is an unusual thing for a man to say, and that he who says it deserves derision and contempt. In such cases, then, laughter is attributed to God or man. Sometime a person laughs when he deceives another in a matter about which the latter should have taken caution and did not. Accordingly the cause of laughter in all cases is a feeling of superiority in the person laughing, when he sees another commit a folly or exhibit ignorance or foolishness. When the scientists say that laughter is a human property, i.e., the cause of laughter is not known, they mean to say that we do not know why laughter is accompanied by certain bodily motions or why laughter is caused by touching the armpits or feeling other sensitive places in the body. But derision as a cause of laughter is well known, as we have shown in explaining the verse, "He that sitteth in heaven laugheth."
Excerpted from Sefer Ha-Ikkarim (Book of Principles), by Joseph Albo |
The
Cambridge Companion to Medieval Jewish
Philosophy,
|
||||
|
Enrich Your Life With a Philosophy Book... Enrich Your Life With a Philosophy Magazine...
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
||
|
|
||
[Homepage] [Newsletter] [Search] [Support the Academy] [Link to Us] [Contact the Academy] [Citing Articles from Our Website] [Privacy Policy & Disclaimer]
Copyright 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03, & 2004 by The Radical Academy. All Rights Reserved.