http://blog.paulmckeever.ca/2008/02/15/irreverence-in-support-of-rationality-hence-life/ Reality, Reason, Self, Consent, Capitalism Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:30:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://blog.paulmckeever.ca/2008/02/15/irreverence-in-support-of-rationality-hence-life/comment-page-1/#comment-11 Is Religion Anti-Freedom? : Paul McKeever Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:51:10 +0000 http://blog.paulmckeever.ca/2008/02/15/irreverence-in-support-of-rationality-hence-life/#comment-11 [...] is the fourth anniversary of the publication of the famous 12 cartoons which many Muslims regarded as blasphemous. In response to the publication of those cartoons, many [...] [...] is the fourth anniversary of the publication of the famous 12 cartoons which many Muslims regarded as blasphemous. In response to the publication of those cartoons, many [...]

]]> http://blog.paulmckeever.ca/2008/02/15/irreverence-in-support-of-rationality-hence-life/comment-page-1/#comment-10 SimonO'Riordan Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:54:50 +0000 http://blog.paulmckeever.ca/2008/02/15/irreverence-in-support-of-rationality-hence-life/#comment-10 I would say that the function of humour in this case is to remind people that they DO NOT HAVE to take the reverences of other people seriously in general. Obviously I wouldn't go out of my way to humiliate a fool,in personal interrelation, but certainly I would be prepared to support such humour. This ties in nicely with your definition of censorship as an attempt to introduce force to thought. Humour, in its rejection of force, is far more forceful than coercion. (For example, the 'dancing' Nazi hordes in British propaganda films took a lot of the wind out of the 'invincibility' sails in 1940). I would say that the function of humour in this case is to remind people that they DO NOT HAVE to take the reverences of other people seriously in general.
Obviously I wouldn’t go out of my way to humiliate a fool,in personal interrelation, but certainly I would be prepared to support such humour.
This ties in nicely with your definition of censorship as an attempt to introduce force to thought.
Humour, in its rejection of force, is far more forceful than coercion.
(For example, the ‘dancing’ Nazi hordes in British propaganda films took a lot of the wind out of the ‘invincibility’ sails in 1940).

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