- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (May 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140137963
- ISBN-13: 978-0140137965
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 872,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Product Description
The book stands somewhat apart from the rest of Freud's writings as a study of normal, rather than pathological psychology, and, although it contains the most closely reasoned accounts of complicated psychological processes that Freud ever gave, it remains one of his most readable works. It includes a rich collection of jokes, particularly those of Jewish folk tradition, in which Freud clearly revelled. Freud deals with the unconscious and conscious sources of pleasure in jokes and wit, comedy and humour, examining the techniques of jokes, their aim, their social function and the role of the audience. He contrasts them with dreams - many of their mechanisms are similar, though their function is different. Jokes and humour allow us to release ideas and emotions which have been repressed, and the euphoria we reach is the same as "the mood of our childhood when we were ignorant of the comic, when we were incapable of jokes and when we had no need of humour to make us feel happy in our life". This volume was edited by Angela Richards. Based on James Strachey's Standard Edition, this collection of 15 volumes is the first full paperback edition of Freud's works in English.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Let us follow up a lead presented to us by chance and consider the first example of a joke that we came across in the preceding chapter. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Let us follow up a lead presented to us by chance and consider the first example of a joke that we came across in the preceding chapter. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
I first this book about 20 years ago, and it has returned to me in my mind (okay, I don't want to get too psycho-analytical here) again and again. The reason is this: it reveals a secret. I have often heard people say stuff like - 'we've got a different sense of humor', or 'jokes are specific to culture' or 'how can you find that funny' - all without any explanation. I mean - if I see a rubbish car, I can usually explain why it is rubbish by saying it's engine is weak or it has no lights etc... but with jokes - they are difficult to quantify and difficult to say why one works and another does not.
Das ist nicht recht, as Freud might have said. Here he basically provides a formula for what a joke is. Therefore, if a joke does not meet a certain set of criteria, then it is not funny. It forces you to take a joke apart, look at its elements and see if it is actually a joke or not. The key to the way Freud worked this out is in the title, that is, if a joke does not relate to the unconscious - those unsaid things we all take for granted, usually in everyday life, then it can't be funny. For example, I am an alien and on my planet, all gaboobas carry shanimas for cultural reasons, which are actually too big for them, although no-one has ever realized or pointed it out. Then I deliver my alien punchline: 'Today I saw a shanima carrying a gabooba to work!!!' Get it? No - exactly, it is not funny (unless you are French which is a whole different matter and none of this applies to you).
Anyway, this book is a sort of light-hearted intellectual read, interesting after having watched or read some great comedy. I definitely recommend it as a way into Freud or if you are over-familiar with the babies and their potties and dream analysis.
Das ist nicht recht, as Freud might have said. Here he basically provides a formula for what a joke is. Therefore, if a joke does not meet a certain set of criteria, then it is not funny. It forces you to take a joke apart, look at its elements and see if it is actually a joke or not. The key to the way Freud worked this out is in the title, that is, if a joke does not relate to the unconscious - those unsaid things we all take for granted, usually in everyday life, then it can't be funny. For example, I am an alien and on my planet, all gaboobas carry shanimas for cultural reasons, which are actually too big for them, although no-one has ever realized or pointed it out. Then I deliver my alien punchline: 'Today I saw a shanima carrying a gabooba to work!!!' Get it? No - exactly, it is not funny (unless you are French which is a whole different matter and none of this applies to you).
Anyway, this book is a sort of light-hearted intellectual read, interesting after having watched or read some great comedy. I definitely recommend it as a way into Freud or if you are over-familiar with the babies and their potties and dream analysis.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
To make a Freudian slip on a banana peel
11 Jan 2005
Format:Paperback
Freud did not see jokes as minor nonsense and insignificance. He saw them as deeper messages delivered to us from our unconscious. He saw them as telling the secrets about ourselves to ourselves and the world that we do not necessarily want to tell. He saw them as acts of aggression and as acts of self- defense. In fact Freud is one of the few theorists of jokes and laughter that the world has had. In my opinion while Freud's understanding of jokes is not exhaustive and all- comprehensive it does illuminate much about a certain kind of humor. And it does teach us something about ourselves which we had not really noticed before Freud taught it to us. Freud himself is of course a source of endless jokes today , but it is not wrong to say that at least some of these jokes should be about his great genius and ability to see and say where others before him did not.
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Freud loosens up a little
31 Oct 2000
Format:Paperback
The logic of Freud can sometimes be overbearing when he is dealing with the makings of a joke. However, he does at times seem to drop his guard, speak in easy to understand terms, and give information that can be understood. If anyone is pursuing comedy in any form, this book would be helpful, and will help you compare your analyzation of what you do with someone who knew very well how the human mind worked. I've applied several of his concepts on stage and have found them successful.
Scholarly but a bit disappointing in the end
3 Jan 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A great admirer of Freud recommended this book to me as perhaps the best of his many writings. Thus, my expectations were high and, perhaps because of that, I ended up a bit disappointed.
Freud analyzes the nature of humor, and specifically of jokes. Not surprisingly to those who know his other work, he finds that jokes work by releasing tension in the subconscious.
Freud argues cohesively and pursuasively - if one is prepared to follow his rather lengthy arguments. His examples are often the easier part of the reading and these are interesting and sometimes funny, although truth be told, it was mostly interesting to discover how lame many of the jokes are that in 19th century apparently were considered hilarious.
In the end, I found this reading interesting but not more than that, and did not come away with any particular new insights or ideas. For the afficianado this book is certainly a must. For the more peripherally interested, it would probably not be the first choice.
Freud analyzes the nature of humor, and specifically of jokes. Not surprisingly to those who know his other work, he finds that jokes work by releasing tension in the subconscious.
Freud argues cohesively and pursuasively - if one is prepared to follow his rather lengthy arguments. His examples are often the easier part of the reading and these are interesting and sometimes funny, although truth be told, it was mostly interesting to discover how lame many of the jokes are that in 19th century apparently were considered hilarious.
In the end, I found this reading interesting but not more than that, and did not come away with any particular new insights or ideas. For the afficianado this book is certainly a must. For the more peripherally interested, it would probably not be the first choice.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Psychology & Psychiatry > Schools of Thought > Psychoanalysis > Freud, Sigmund
- Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Psychology & Psychiatry > Schools of Thought > Psychoanalysis > Theory
- Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Self Help > Practical & Motivational
- Books > Humour > Self-Help & Psychology
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
