On Humour

"On Humour is a book on what humour can tell us about being human. Simon Critchley skilfully probes some of the most perennial but least understood aspects of humour: why is it that we mock death with laughter? Why are so many comedians depressives? If humour is uniquely human, then why do we spend so much time laughing at animals? If we laugh with the body, then do we also laugh at the body? Is humour revolutionary or does it simply reinforce the status quo? What is going on in racist and sexist humour? Is joking a private matter or is humour something essentially shared and social?"