Description

Book Synopsis
Presents an innovative and comprehensive theory of comedy. Using a wealth of examples from high and popular culture and with careful attention to the treatment of humour in philosophy, Todd McGowan locates the universal source of comedy in the interplay of the opposing concepts lack and excess.

Trade Review
Only a Joke Can Save Us offers a master class in psychoanalysis masquerading as a master class in comedy. McGowan’s theory yields powerful, persuasive, original insights into examples as varied as classic cinema, Jewish jokes, Kierkegaard, and Shakespeare. This master class will be thoroughly enjoyed by philosophers, cultural critics, affect theorists, and psychoanalytic thinkers alike."" - Anna Kornbluh, author of Realizing Capital: Financial and Psychic Economies in Victorian Realist Form

Table of Contents
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: The Similar and the Dissimilar
  • Lack and Excess
  • Theory and Opposition
  • Tragedy and Pathos
  • Philosophy and the Finite
  • Signification and Desire
  • Distance and Proximity
  • Outside and Inside
  • Politics and Comedy
  • Conclusion: Speculation and Levity

Only a Joke Can Save Us A Theory of Comedy

    Product form

    £27.96

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £34.95 – you save £6.99 (20%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Mon 10 Aug 2026.

    A Paperback by Todd McGowan

    2 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Only a Joke Can Save Us A Theory of Comedy by Todd McGowan

      Publisher: Northwestern University Press
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 9/30/2017 12:00:00 AM
      ISBN13: 9780810135802, 978-0810135802
      ISBN10: 0810135809
      Also in:
      Philosophy

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Presents an innovative and comprehensive theory of comedy. Using a wealth of examples from high and popular culture and with careful attention to the treatment of humour in philosophy, Todd McGowan locates the universal source of comedy in the interplay of the opposing concepts lack and excess.

      Trade Review
      Only a Joke Can Save Us offers a master class in psychoanalysis masquerading as a master class in comedy. McGowan’s theory yields powerful, persuasive, original insights into examples as varied as classic cinema, Jewish jokes, Kierkegaard, and Shakespeare. This master class will be thoroughly enjoyed by philosophers, cultural critics, affect theorists, and psychoanalytic thinkers alike."" - Anna Kornbluh, author of Realizing Capital: Financial and Psychic Economies in Victorian Realist Form

      Table of Contents
      • Acknowledgments
      • Introduction: The Similar and the Dissimilar
      • Lack and Excess
      • Theory and Opposition
      • Tragedy and Pathos
      • Philosophy and the Finite
      • Signification and Desire
      • Distance and Proximity
      • Outside and Inside
      • Politics and Comedy
      • Conclusion: Speculation and Levity

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account