Laughter [ Communication ]
… targeted appropriately, laughter could also demonstrate and promote good taste – the ubiquitous aspiration of polite society. The German philosopher Georg Friedrich Meier (1718-1777) epitomised this sentiment in his 200-page exposition on … Proof of a refined Taste, never to jest but in a sprightly Manner, and never to approve but sprightly Jests. 6 In a society in which it was the worst of all social crimes to be considered a dullard, the capacity to jest appropriately, … and laughter were not simply a matter of superficial good manners; they were elevated as an essential prop to civil society. The third earl of Shaftesbury ’s essay, Sensus Communis, or an Essay on the Freedom of Wit and Humour , was …
Humour | Impoliteness | Laughter | Manners | Politeness | Taste | Wit
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