Ridiculous
Encyclopedia
The ridiculous is that which is highly incongruous or inferior, sometimes deliberately so to make people laugh or get their attention, and sometimes unintended so as to be considered laughable and earn or provoke ridicule
and derision. It comes from the 1540s Latin “ridiculosus” meaning "laughable”, from “ridiculus” meaning "that which excites laughter”, and from “ridere” meaning "to laugh". "Ridiculous" is an adjective describing "the ridiculous".
In common usage, "ridiculousness" is used as a synonym for absurdity
or nonsense
. Historic and technical usage of "absurdity" associates it with invalid
argumentation and reasoning. Historic and technical usage of "nonsense" associates it with semantics
and meaning
. While historic and technical usage of "ridiculous" associates it with laughter, superiority, deformity, and incongruity. Reductio ad absurdum
is a valid
method of argument
, while reductio ad ridiculum is invalid. Argument by invective
declaration of ridiculous is invalid, while arguments involving declarations of nonsense may summarize a cogent
semantic problem with lack or meaning or ambiguity
.
Historically, the ridiculous was central to initial theories of humor and laughter as first put forth by philosopher Thomas Hobbes
. It was used in psychosocial power struggles in the European court by reducing opponents to the ridiculous using ridicule. It is currently used in the theory of humor to create laughter, shock, parody
, or satire
. Reactions to the ridiculous have been studied in psychology
for its effects on memory, attention, and attitude in social hierarchies. These studies have been applied to the theory of advertisement regarding attention, memory, and alleviation of preexisting negative attitudes toward products. The ridiculous is often contrasted with the sublime, one of extreme inferiority, the other of extreme superiority, and often one can suddenly move from one extreme state to the other.
ridiculous position (here noting the element of the incongruous), so that laughter
is most intense when we escape from a 'coerced solemnity'.” For Aristotle
, we laugh at inferior or ugly individuals, because we feel a joy at being superior to them. Socrates
was reported by Plato
as saying that the ridiculous was characterized by a display of self-ignorance. Deformity
was considered by some to be essential to the ridiculous. Psychological theories of humor include the “incongruity theory” and the “superiority theory”, the latter of which the philosopher Thomas Hobbes
was an early proponent. Hobbes claimed that laughter was either caused spontaneously, or by seeing a deformed thing to which one compares themselves and laugh as a form of self applause; “a sudden glory arising from sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison of the infirmities of others.” The Right Reverend William Warburton
, Lord Bishop
of Gloucester
said in the early 18th century that, "Nothing is ridiculous but what is deformed". Using the ridiculous is a method in the theory of humor.
Although common usage now considers "absurdity
" to be synonymous with "ridiculousness", Hobbes discussed the two concepts as different, in that absurdity is viewed as having to do with invalid reasoning, as in Hobbes' Table of Absurdity, while ridiculousness has to do with laughter, superiority, ridicule, and deformity.
culture uses the painfully ridiculous, and is believed to become closer to the gods by its primordial
ity. Native American clowns are ridiculous in their contrary and rule breaking antics. In the film Little Big Man
, the sacred clown rides sitting backwards on his horse. Heyókȟa are thought of as being inconguously backwards-forwards, upside-down, or contrary in nature. This spirit is often manifest by doing things backwards or unconventionally—riding a horse backwards, wearing clothes inside-out, or speaking backwards. For example, if food were scarce, a Heyókȟa would sit around and complain about how full he was; during a baking hot heat wave a Heyókȟa would shiver with cold and put on gloves and cover himself with a thick blanket. Similarly, when it is 40 degrees below freezing he will wander around naked for hours complaining that it is too hot.
and satire
.
In Candide
, Voltaire
parodies Leibnitz
’s argument for the existence of evil under a benign God using "ridiculous rationalizations of evil". Leibnitz claimed that God is constrained by logic, and created the best of all possible worlds
. After being reduced from a "dignified
" state to its opposite, the optimistic Dr. Pangloss (representing Leibnitz) finds cause to consider his undignified position to be the best of all possible worlds, noting his own particular current happiness, which he argues could not have been attained without experiencing the atrocities in the previous narrative; his optimistic attitude is extremely incongruous with his experiences and extremely inferior undignified ultimate condition.
In Stanley Kubrick
’s 2001, A Space Odyssey, apelike humans and their behavior are juxtaposed next to streamlined advanced technology with a highly avant garde score by composer György Ligeti
; Ligeti also used ridiculous juxtaposition in his scores to create parody, and this tool was frequently used by composer Peter Maxwell Davies
. Director Andrei Tarkovsky
used this method in Solaris
to parody Kubrick’s advanced and costly cinematic technology in 2001, and at the same time parody the backwardness of Tarkovsky’s own Soviet Union
, by filming the freeway from the front of a car, to duplicate Kubrick’s advanced video feedback techniques; this ridiculous juxtaposition of the Soviet Solaris as a response to 2001, was further juxtaposed with the space race
of the 1960’s, having degenerated to a "space movie race" at the end of that decade.
uses both inconguity and deformity to created ridiculous dance performance and lifestyle; extreme movement methods that are highly inconguous with natural body movement in its dance and everyday lifestyle, as well as in its clothing, actions, costume and set design that is highly incongruous with societal norms, which often shock the audience or visitor, and are sometimes considered not only ridiculous, but incongruently "bizzare and beautiful
" or "elegant and grotesque
".
where something with one quality is thought of as approaching, or likely to change to, the other.
Thomas Paine
, writing in The Age of Reason
in 1795, said The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related, that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the sublime, makes the ridiculous; and one step above the ridiculous, makes the sublime again.
Napoleon, reflecting on the state of his existence following his retreat from Moscow in 1812, famously remarked to Polish ambassador D. G. De Pradt: Du sublime au ridicule il n'y a qu'un pas (There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous).
argument, rather than addressing the argument itself. For example, in arguing against idealism
, with its sophisticated arguments that the world was not real but only existed in the mind
, philosopher Dr. Johnson famously kicked a stone.
Contrasting ridiculousness with absurdity
in reasoning, Reductio ad ridiculum is an invalid
method of, while reductio ad absurdum
is a valid method.
, without further argumentation. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
often dismissed philosophical positions by calling them "ridiculous" without further argument given.
Ridicule
Ridicule is a 1996 French film set in the 18th century at the decadent court of Versailles, where social status can rise and fall based on one's ability to mete out witty insults and avoid ridicule oneself...
and derision. It comes from the 1540s Latin “ridiculosus” meaning "laughable”, from “ridiculus” meaning "that which excites laughter”, and from “ridere” meaning "to laugh". "Ridiculous" is an adjective describing "the ridiculous".
In common usage, "ridiculousness" is used as a synonym for absurdity
Absurdity
An absurdity is a thing that is extremely unreasonable, so as to be foolish or not taken seriously, or the state of being so. "Absurd" is an adjective used to describe an absurdity, e.g., “this encyclopedia article is absurd”. It derives from the Latin absurdusm meaning "out of tune", hence...
or nonsense
Nonsense
Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous...
. Historic and technical usage of "absurdity" associates it with invalid
Invalid
Invalid may refer to:* Patient, a sick person* A person with a disability* .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real useAs the opposite of valid:* Validity, in logic, true premises cannot lead to a false conclusion...
argumentation and reasoning. Historic and technical usage of "nonsense" associates it with semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
and meaning
Meaning (linguistics)
In linguistics, meaning is what is expressed by the writer or speaker, and what is conveyed to the reader or listener, provided that they talk about the same thing . In other words if the object and the name of the object and the concepts in their head are the same...
. While historic and technical usage of "ridiculous" associates it with laughter, superiority, deformity, and incongruity. Reductio ad absurdum
Reductio ad absurdum
In logic, proof by contradiction is a form of proof that establishes the truth or validity of a proposition by showing that the proposition's being false would imply a contradiction...
is a valid
Valid
Valid is a Brazilian engraving company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro that provides security printing services to financial institutions, telecommunication companies, state governments, and public agencies in Brazil, Argentina, and Spain....
method of argument
Argument
In philosophy and logic, an argument is an attempt to persuade someone of something, or give evidence or reasons for accepting a particular conclusion.Argument may also refer to:-Mathematics and computer science:...
, while reductio ad ridiculum is invalid. Argument by invective
Invective
Invective , from Middle English "invectif", or Old French and Late Latin "invectus", is an abusive, reproachful or venomous language used to express blame or censure; also, a rude expression or discourse intended to offend or hurt. Vituperation, or deeply-seated ill will, vitriol...
declaration of ridiculous is invalid, while arguments involving declarations of nonsense may summarize a cogent
Cogent
Cogent can refer to:* Cogency of an argument* Cogent Communications, an Internet service provider* Cogent Partners, an investment banking firm focused on private equity secondary advisory transactions...
semantic problem with lack or meaning or ambiguity
Ambiguity
Ambiguity of words or phrases is the ability to express more than one interpretation. It is distinct from vagueness, which is a statement about the lack of precision contained or available in the information.Context may play a role in resolving ambiguity...
.
Historically, the ridiculous was central to initial theories of humor and laughter as first put forth by philosopher Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
. It was used in psychosocial power struggles in the European court by reducing opponents to the ridiculous using ridicule. It is currently used in the theory of humor to create laughter, shock, parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, or satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
. Reactions to the ridiculous have been studied in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
for its effects on memory, attention, and attitude in social hierarchies. These studies have been applied to the theory of advertisement regarding attention, memory, and alleviation of preexisting negative attitudes toward products. The ridiculous is often contrasted with the sublime, one of extreme inferiority, the other of extreme superiority, and often one can suddenly move from one extreme state to the other.
History: Incongruity, the superiority theory of humor, and deformity
The ridiculous often has extreme incongruity (things that are not thought to belong next to each other) or inferiority, e.g., “when something that was dignified is reduced to aridiculous position (here noting the element of the incongruous), so that laughter
is most intense when we escape from a 'coerced solemnity'.” For Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, we laugh at inferior or ugly individuals, because we feel a joy at being superior to them. Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
was reported by Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
as saying that the ridiculous was characterized by a display of self-ignorance. Deformity
Deformity
A deformity, dysmorphism, or dysmorphic feature is a major difference in the shape of body part or organ compared to the average shape of that part.Deformity may arise from numerous causes:*A Genetic mutation*Damage to the fetus or uterus...
was considered by some to be essential to the ridiculous. Psychological theories of humor include the “incongruity theory” and the “superiority theory”, the latter of which the philosopher Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
was an early proponent. Hobbes claimed that laughter was either caused spontaneously, or by seeing a deformed thing to which one compares themselves and laugh as a form of self applause; “a sudden glory arising from sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison of the infirmities of others.” The Right Reverend William Warburton
William Warburton
William Warburton was an English critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759.-Life:He was born at Newark, where his father, who belonged to an old Cheshire family, was town clerk. William was educated at Oakham and Newark grammar schools, and in 1714 he was articled to Mr Kirke, an...
, Lord Bishop
Lord Bishop
"Lord Bishop" is a traditional form of address used for bishops since the Middle Ages, an era when bishops occupied the feudal rank of 'lord' by virtue of their office...
of Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
said in the early 18th century that, "Nothing is ridiculous but what is deformed". Using the ridiculous is a method in the theory of humor.
Although common usage now considers "absurdity
Absurdity
An absurdity is a thing that is extremely unreasonable, so as to be foolish or not taken seriously, or the state of being so. "Absurd" is an adjective used to describe an absurdity, e.g., “this encyclopedia article is absurd”. It derives from the Latin absurdusm meaning "out of tune", hence...
" to be synonymous with "ridiculousness", Hobbes discussed the two concepts as different, in that absurdity is viewed as having to do with invalid reasoning, as in Hobbes' Table of Absurdity, while ridiculousness has to do with laughter, superiority, ridicule, and deformity.
Native American Sacred Clown
The Sacred Clown (Heyókȟa) in some Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
culture uses the painfully ridiculous, and is believed to become closer to the gods by its primordial
Primordial
Primordial may refer to:* Primordial sea . See abiogenesis* Primordial nuclide, nuclides, a few radioactive, that formed before the Earth existed and are stable enough to still occur on Earth...
ity. Native American clowns are ridiculous in their contrary and rule breaking antics. In the film Little Big Man
Little Big Man
Little Big Man is a 1970 American Western film directed by Arthur Penn and based on the 1964 comic novel by Thomas Berger. It is a picaresque comedy about a Caucasian boy raised by the Cheyenne nation during the 19th century...
, the sacred clown rides sitting backwards on his horse. Heyókȟa are thought of as being inconguously backwards-forwards, upside-down, or contrary in nature. This spirit is often manifest by doing things backwards or unconventionally—riding a horse backwards, wearing clothes inside-out, or speaking backwards. For example, if food were scarce, a Heyókȟa would sit around and complain about how full he was; during a baking hot heat wave a Heyókȟa would shiver with cold and put on gloves and cover himself with a thick blanket. Similarly, when it is 40 degrees below freezing he will wander around naked for hours complaining that it is too hot.
Parody and satire in social commentary
The ridiculous can use uses both physical and conceptual inferiority and incongruity of juxtaposition to create parodyParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
and satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
.
In Candide
Candide
Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
, Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
parodies Leibnitz
Leibnitz
Leibnitz is a city in the Austrian state of Styria and at the 2001 census had a population of approximately 7.577 .It is located to the south of the city of Graz, between the Mur and Sulm rivers....
’s argument for the existence of evil under a benign God using "ridiculous rationalizations of evil". Leibnitz claimed that God is constrained by logic, and created the best of all possible worlds
Possible Worlds
Possible Worlds may refer to:* Possible worlds, a concept in philosophy* Possible Worlds , by John Mighton** Possible Worlds , by Robert Lepage, based on the Mighton play* Possible Worlds , by Peter Porter...
. After being reduced from a "dignified
Dignity
Dignity is a term used in moral, ethical, and political discussions to signify that a being has an innate right to respect and ethical treatment. It is an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights...
" state to its opposite, the optimistic Dr. Pangloss (representing Leibnitz) finds cause to consider his undignified position to be the best of all possible worlds, noting his own particular current happiness, which he argues could not have been attained without experiencing the atrocities in the previous narrative; his optimistic attitude is extremely incongruous with his experiences and extremely inferior undignified ultimate condition.
In Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
’s 2001, A Space Odyssey, apelike humans and their behavior are juxtaposed next to streamlined advanced technology with a highly avant garde score by composer György Ligeti
György Ligeti
György Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
; Ligeti also used ridiculous juxtaposition in his scores to create parody, and this tool was frequently used by composer Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
. Director Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
used this method in Solaris
Solaris (1972 film)
Solaris is a 1972 film adaptation of the novel Solaris , directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. The film is a meditative psychological drama occurring mostly aboard a space station orbiting the fictional planet Solaris. The scientific mission has stalled, because the scientist crew have fallen to...
to parody Kubrick’s advanced and costly cinematic technology in 2001, and at the same time parody the backwardness of Tarkovsky’s own Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, by filming the freeway from the front of a car, to duplicate Kubrick’s advanced video feedback techniques; this ridiculous juxtaposition of the Soviet Solaris as a response to 2001, was further juxtaposed with the space race
Space Race
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...
of the 1960’s, having degenerated to a "space movie race" at the end of that decade.
Japanese Butoh Dance
Japanese ButohButoh
is the collective name for a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement inspired by the movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally performed in white body makeup...
uses both inconguity and deformity to created ridiculous dance performance and lifestyle; extreme movement methods that are highly inconguous with natural body movement in its dance and everyday lifestyle, as well as in its clothing, actions, costume and set design that is highly incongruous with societal norms, which often shock the audience or visitor, and are sometimes considered not only ridiculous, but incongruently "bizzare and beautiful
Beautiful
Beautiful is an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty.Beautiful may also refer to:-Albums:* Beautiful * Beautiful * Beautiful * Beautiful...
" or "elegant and grotesque
Grotesque
The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "Grotto", meaning a small cave or hollow. The original meaning was restricted to an extravagant style of Ancient Roman decorative art rediscovered and then copied in Rome at the end of the 15th century...
".
Theatre of the Ridiculous
The Theatre of the Ridiculous uses highly incongruous stage settings and incongruous costumes such as cross dressing to disturb or create shock in the audience.Psychology: attention, memory, and attitudes
Psychologists have studied human response to the ridiculous and its effects on attention and memory.Advertising
The ridiculous is used in advertisement to manipulate attention and attitudes to products.Juxtaposition with the sublime
The ridiculous is sometimes contrasted to the sublimeSublime (philosophy)
In aesthetics, the sublime is the quality of greatness, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual or artistic...
where something with one quality is thought of as approaching, or likely to change to, the other.
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
, writing in The Age of Reason
The Age of Reason
The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a deistic pamphlet, written by eighteenth-century British radical and American revolutionary Thomas Paine, that criticizes institutionalized religion and challenges the legitimacy of the Bible, the central sacred text of...
in 1795, said The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related, that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the sublime, makes the ridiculous; and one step above the ridiculous, makes the sublime again.
Napoleon, reflecting on the state of his existence following his retreat from Moscow in 1812, famously remarked to Polish ambassador D. G. De Pradt: Du sublime au ridicule il n'y a qu'un pas (There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous).
Reduction to the ridiculous, or "reductio ad ridiculum"
Reduction to the ridiculous (Latin: "reductio ad ridiculum", also called "Appeal to ridicule", "appeal to mockery", or "the Horse Laugh") is a logical fallacy which presents the opponent's argument in a way that grossly misrepresent it, and appears ridiculous next to it, often so misrepresentative as to creating a straw manStraw man
A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position, twisting his words or by means of [false] assumptions...
argument, rather than addressing the argument itself. For example, in arguing against idealism
Idealism
In philosophy, idealism is the family of views which assert that reality, or reality as we can know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial. Epistemologically, idealism manifests as a skepticism about the possibility of knowing any mind-independent thing...
, with its sophisticated arguments that the world was not real but only existed in the mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
, philosopher Dr. Johnson famously kicked a stone.
Contrasting ridiculousness with absurdity
Absurdity
An absurdity is a thing that is extremely unreasonable, so as to be foolish or not taken seriously, or the state of being so. "Absurd" is an adjective used to describe an absurdity, e.g., “this encyclopedia article is absurd”. It derives from the Latin absurdusm meaning "out of tune", hence...
in reasoning, Reductio ad ridiculum is an invalid
Invalid
Invalid may refer to:* Patient, a sick person* A person with a disability* .invalid, a top-level Internet domain not intended for real useAs the opposite of valid:* Validity, in logic, true premises cannot lead to a false conclusion...
method of, while reductio ad absurdum
Reductio ad absurdum
In logic, proof by contradiction is a form of proof that establishes the truth or validity of a proposition by showing that the proposition's being false would imply a contradiction...
is a valid method.
Invective
Arguments are often simply dismissed by calling them "ridiculous" as an invectiveInvective
Invective , from Middle English "invectif", or Old French and Late Latin "invectus", is an abusive, reproachful or venomous language used to express blame or censure; also, a rude expression or discourse intended to offend or hurt. Vituperation, or deeply-seated ill will, vitriol...
, without further argumentation. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
often dismissed philosophical positions by calling them "ridiculous" without further argument given.
See also
- AbsurdityAbsurdityAn absurdity is a thing that is extremely unreasonable, so as to be foolish or not taken seriously, or the state of being so. "Absurd" is an adjective used to describe an absurdity, e.g., “this encyclopedia article is absurd”. It derives from the Latin absurdusm meaning "out of tune", hence...
- Incongruity
- Illogical
- Non sequitur (logic)Non sequitur (logic)Non sequitur , in formal logic, is an argument in which its conclusion does not follow from its premises. In a non sequitur, the conclusion could be either true or false, but the argument is fallacious because there is a disconnection between the premise and the conclusion. All formal fallacies...
- NonsenseNonsenseNonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous...
- SillySillySilly may refer to:* Silly, Belgium, a town in Belgium* Silly Department, a department or commune of Sissili Province in southern Burkina Faso* Silly , an East German rock group from the 1970s...
- Theatre of the Ridiculous