GENIUS FORUMS

Having sex is immaterial. It doesn't have any pleasure or pain intrinsically. If it causes pleasure of a psychological kind, then that's deluded, because there is the underlying belief that something is thereby really gained. Of course, if a wise person understands that the "gain" of inseminating a female successfully is not really an intrinsic gain, then there's no problem.

But I don't think the fellow in your story was wise. It doesn't mention that he was in a survival situation trying to resuscitate a near-to-extinction human population, and if he were, I doubt he would use the nuclear family mode.


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Kelly Jones wrote:But I don't think the fellow in your story was wise. It doesn't mention that he was in a survival situation trying to resuscitate a near-to-extinction human population, and if he were, I doubt he would use the nuclear family mode.

I never said anything about the father or the son. The entire joke was about the predicament of the mother. You, Carmel and Tomas are the ones who are interpreting the joke psychologically. It's telling that you automatically interpret a joke about a woman to be something about female-male dynamics or psychology, rather than simply poking fun at an individual.

Laughter is a will to power. Yes, she is stupid. But laughing at a stupid person indicates the desire to overpower something which has influence over the one laughing, just as a crowd will laugh at a male comedian behaving clumsily when trying to impress a female with his debonair act. They band together in order to feel powerful and distanced from their fear of being like him. I'm surprised you aren't interested in exploring the man's position in the joke.


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Kelly Jones wrote:Laughter is a will to power. Yes, she is stupid. But laughing at a stupid person indicates the desire to overpower something which has influence over the one laughing

While I agree with this, this is totally irrelevant in this context, given that the joke was a forum post and I later on articulated the point of the joke. It was not just laughing at someone for the sake of it.

I'm surprised you aren't interested in exploring the man's position in the joke.

The man's position is irrelevant in the joke itself and its context. I may as well say - I'm surprised that you aren't interested in the youngest son's position in the joke. Why did the youngest son ask the question to the father and not the eldest son, and why did he ask it to his father and not his mother(who was sitting right beside him)? Are their any daughters in the family and if yes then what significance do they have vis-à-vis the mother?....and so on and on....It would be a joke in itself! :-)

jupiviv wrote:

Kelly Jones wrote:But I don't think the fellow in your story was wise. It doesn't mention that he was in a survival situation trying to resuscitate a near-to-extinction human population, and if he were, I doubt he would use the nuclear family mode.

I never said anything about the father or the son. The entire joke was about the predicament of the mother. You, Carmel and Tomas are the ones who are interpreting the joke psychologically. It's telling that you automatically interpret a joke about a woman to be something about female-male dynamics or psychology, rather than simply poking fun at an individual.

Or rather than just laughing at it...

Surely you two knew that posting a joke on a philosophy forum would most likely result in the joke being philosophically dissected..

Carmel wrote:You seem to be having trouble seeing reality for what it is. Try reading this simple sentence again: There are more whoremongers than there are whores.

Well, there are two quite different definitions for "whoremonger." Obviously, if a whoremonger is defined as a prostitute's customer, there are more whoremongers than whores, or the whores would be out of business. If the whoremonger is the pimp, or one who supplies whores, there are more whores or else the whoremongers would be out of business.

bluerap wrote:Surely you two knew that posting a joke on a philosophy forum would most likely result in the joke being philosophically dissected..

Hey, I didn't post it, b-rap. And even on a philosophy forum, it should be allowable to have an appropriate reaction. Even on a philosophy forum, philosphical dissection isn't always appropriate.

cousinbasil wrote: Even on a philosophy forum, philosphical dissection isn't always appropriate.

Ok, now that's funny.

bluerap wrote:

cousinbasil wrote: Even on a philosophy forum, philosphical dissection isn't always appropriate.

Ok, now that's funny.

Not to mention true, yet pithy.

No doubt the point of the joke was to stir up some laughs. I think I even grinned at it.

Criticizing a forum member for creating a philosophic discussion out of the joke... on a philosophy forum... is a bit ironic.

bluerap wrote:No doubt the point of the joke was to stir up some laughs. I think I even grinned at it.

Criticizing a forum member for creating a philosophic discussion out of the joke... on a philosophy forum... is a bit ironic.

Irony is such an often-misued term. But since it is in the eye of the beholder, I take your word for it. Was I in fact criticizing anyone for waxing philosophical? Or for appearing not to get a simple joke? If I wrote a post saying "I got up this morning, went straight to the bathroom," and a forum member created a philosphic discussion about bowel movements, would it carry some special metaphysical weight because this is a so-called philosophy forum?

I don't see how a philosophical discussion based solely on bowel movements would occur, or be useful, but the notion is pretty humorous :)

There are lots of social dynamics tied into the original joke. That a poster skipped the "hardy har har" reply and went straight to discussing the underlying connotations of the situation in the story, comes as no surprise, given the nature, and purpose, of the forum.

Whether the replier "got" the joke, or laughed at it, is irrelevant.

Sorry I used "ironic" in an ironic manner. (am I doing it right?)

bluerap wrote:Sorry I used "ironic" in an ironic manner. (am I doing it right?)

Ironically, you are.

It's a pretty low-brow joke, at least by the standards of the forum. But I think Jupta was just trying to facilitate a lighter mood on the forum.

jupiviv wrote:Kelly: Laughter is a will to power. Yes, she is stupid. But laughing at a stupid person indicates the desire to overpower something which has influence over the one laughing

Jupta: While I agree with this, this is totally irrelevant in this context, given that the joke was a forum post and I later on articulated the point of the joke. It was not just laughing at someone for the sake of it.

I wasn't saying you were. I merely was adding a deeper layer, by examining the hypocrisy of the man in mocking a woman's superficiality, when he had married her knowing what she is. I think it would have been a clearer joke if he wasn't married and the boy was not their son, but then the sense of tragedy and shock in challenging a strong social taboo (a man calmly and rationally announcing that his wife is a prostitute before their son) would have been lessened.

Yes, these days, if a man did that in our so-called civilised society, the wife would be hailing for divorce and would get custody of the boy. And she would also get custody of the boy if she publicly announced he was unfaithful. The Manipulated Man, indeed.

Kelly: I'm surprised you aren't interested in exploring the man's position in the joke.

Jupta: The man's position is irrelevant in the joke itself and its context.

Not as I see it. But then, my mind is a little wild, and I see a lot more than people intend or even think about.

I may as well say - I'm surprised that you aren't interested in the youngest son's position in the joke. Why did the youngest son ask the question to the father and not the eldest son,

He stands for the innocence of the beginner-thinker. That adds to the tragi-comic tone, that he is trustingly seeking his father's response, who is still in bondage to his wife.

and why did he ask it to his father and not his mother(who was sitting right beside him)? Are their any daughters in the family and if yes then what significance do they have vis-à-vis the mother?....and so on and on....It would be a joke in itself! :-)

There it is: the Infinite. Every slight alteration casts a different light on a picture. Yes, certainly a lot of jokes could be made of it, in more senses than the obvious.


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