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Who was the funniest philosopher?

The funniest philosopher was Søren Kierkegaard, according to Princeton University Press's description of Thomas Oden's anthology The Humor of Kierkegaard (2004), because he wrote despair as deadpan comedy, hid behind invented authors, and let ordinary excuses talk themselves into absurdity.

Updated · Based on Princeton University Press (July 26, 2004), First Things (January 2005) and Big Think (October 1, 2018)

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There is no formal ranking of the funniest philosophers, so the case rests on a handful of named critics. Thomas Oden's 352-page anthology, published by Princeton University Press in July 2004, nominates Kierkegaard (1813–1855) as the most amusing philosopher of all time despite his reputation as the melancholy Dane. Theologian David Bentley Hart, writing in First Things in January 2005, called Kierkegaard perhaps the greatest humorist among philosophers but handed the title to Johann Georg Hamann instead. Big Think's 2018 list of eccentrics keeps Diogenes of Sinope in the conversation, and Hart rated Voltaire the more versatile humorist. What sets Kierkegaard apart is that the jokes sit inside serious books: a clown in a burning theater, a shop sign with nothing behind it, a narrator too idle even to lie down.

The pick: Søren Kierkegaard

Danish philosopher, Copenhagen, 1813–1855

Nominated as the most amusing philosopher ever by Thomas Oden's 2004 Princeton anthology, and called perhaps the greatest humorist among philosophers by David Bentley Hart.

Also in the running

  • Johann Georg Hamann (German philosopher, 1730–1788): David Bentley Hart's choice in First Things (2005): the title of most amusing philosopher goes to "Hamann, and Hamann alone."
  • Voltaire (French writer and philosopher, 1694–1778): Hart called him a greater and more versatile humorist than Kierkegaard, while doubting he counts as a true philosopher.
  • Diogenes of Sinope (Greek Cynic philosopher, 4th century BC): Scotty Hendricks of Big Think named him the most eccentric philosopher of all time in 2018, retelling his plucked-chicken answer to Plato's definition of man.

What made them funny

Kierkegaard's comedy is built from the inside of a mood. In the 1843 Either/Or, the voice called A narrates boredom and gloom so precisely that the precision becomes the laugh: each excuse is reasoned out with full seriousness until the reasoning itself looks ridiculous. Thomas Oden's anthology gathers this material from farce to aphorism and argues that the melancholy and the humor are the same instrument.

He also turned authorship into a running gag. Between 1843 and 1846 his books came out under a cast of invented writers and editors, among them Victor Eremita, Johannes de Silentio, Constantin Constantius, Nicolaus Notabene, Johannes Climacus and a Hilarius Bookbinder who claimed only to have compiled the manuscript. In 1843 a short piece signed A. F. even asked in print who had written Either/Or. The masks let him argue with himself in public, and let each voice be wrong in its own entertaining way.

Techniques to take into your videos and sets

  1. 1. The alarm nobody believes

    What they did

    In Either/Or (1843), a fire breaks out backstage, the clown runs on to warn the audience, and they applaud; he warns them again and they laugh harder. Kierkegaard's narrator predicts the world will end the same way, to "general applause from wits who believe it's a joke."

    Why it works

    It turns the comedian's own reputation into the trap. The audience already knows this person is always kidding, so the one true sentence gets the biggest laugh, and the listener feels the irony before anyone explains it.

    Example (original, written by Shutap)

    I've joked about my car dying for two years, so when I texted the group chat "no really, it's smoking" I got four laughing emojis and one "classic."

    Try it

    Find something you complain about so often it's become your bit, then tell the story of the day it was real and nobody believed you.

  2. 2. Only the sign is for sale

    What they did

    A short entry in Either/Or compares what philosophers promise about reality to a secondhand shop sign reading "Pressing Done Here." Bring your clothes in and you're cheated: the shop isn't pressing anything, it's selling the sign.

    Why it works

    Everyone has met a promise with nothing behind it. Making the empty promise a physical object (a sign, a label, a sticker) gives the audience something to picture and a single word to blame.

    Example (original, written by Shutap)

    My building's laundry room has a sign that says ALWAYS OPEN, and it's completely accurate: the door is always open, and all 3 machines are always broken.

    Try it

    Pick the label, slogan or sign in your story and read it so literally that it turns out to be technically true and useless.

  3. 3. Too tired to lie down

    What they did

    In the Either/Or entry headed "Apathy" on the University of Copenhagen's Kierkegaard pages, the speaker says "I don't feel like doing anything," then rules out riding, walking and finally lying down, because lying down means either staying there or getting up again.

    Why it works

    Each refusal is a little more reasonable-sounding and a little less reasonable. By the time rest itself is rejected as too demanding, the audience is laughing at the logic, not at the person.

    Example (original, written by Shutap)

    Cooking is too much work, delivery means picking a restaurant, and cereal means deciding whether I'm sitting down for it, so I'm holding the fridge door open.

    Try it

    List three escapes from your problem, reject each with a reason that's slightly more petty than the last, and end on rejecting the easiest one.

  4. 4. Volunteer to make it harder

    What they did

    Writing as Johannes Climacus in the Concluding Unscientific Postscript (1846), Kierkegaard looks around at an age busy making everything easier and decides the one thing left missing is "the lack of difficulty," so he takes up the job of supplying it.

    Why it works

    It reverses the self-improvement promise. Instead of offering a shortcut, the speaker cheerfully appoints himself to the opposite role, which mocks the whole genre without naming anyone.

    Example (original, written by Shutap)

    Every morning-routine video promises to make my day easier, so someone had to take the other side: today I alphabetized the spice rack before coffee.

    Try it

    Name the trend everyone in your niche is pushing, then announce, with total sincerity, that you've taken on its exact opposite.

  5. 5. Sign it with a fake name

    What they did

    Kierkegaard credited his books to invented authors and editors, from Victor Eremita, the editor of Either/Or (1843), to Hilarius Bookbinder, the humble compiler of Stages on Life's Way (1845). The Wikipedia bibliography lists over a dozen of these personas.

    Why it works

    A second character lets you disagree with yourself out loud. The gap between the grand thing being said and the small, oddly specific person supposedly saying it is a joke on its own.

    Example (original, written by Shutap)

    This video was approved by our quality control department, Gary, who is also me, and who also wanted it posted at 2 a.m.

    Try it

    Invent one official-sounding role (the editor, the legal team, the intern) and credit your worst decision to it.

Before you quote them

Kierkegaard wrote in Danish, so every line here is a translation and wording differs between editions: the University of Copenhagen's version of the clown passage ends with "wits and wags" rather than "wits." Oden's anthology says it "provisionally" crowns Kierkegaard, and Hart disagreed in print, so treat the title as a well-argued nomination.

Questions people ask

Who was the funniest philosopher?
Søren Kierkegaard is the most often nominated. Princeton University Press's 2004 anthology The Humor of Kierkegaard, edited by Thomas Oden, names him the most amusing philosopher of all time, and David Bentley Hart called him perhaps the greatest humorist among philosophers in First Things in 2005.
Who else is considered a funny philosopher?
David Bentley Hart argued in First Things (2005) that Johann Georg Hamann deserves the title and rated Voltaire a more versatile humorist than Kierkegaard. Big Think's Scotty Hendricks (2018) named Diogenes of Sinope the most eccentric philosopher, partly for his plucked-chicken reply to Plato.
What is Kierkegaard's funniest line?
The best known is the clown parable in Either/Or (1843): a fire starts backstage, the clown warns the audience, and they applaud. Kierkegaard's narrator predicts the world will end the same way, to general applause from wits who think it's a joke.
Why did Kierkegaard write under fake names?
His pseudonyms let different characters argue different views in public. Either/Or (1843) was edited by "Victor Eremita," Fear and Trembling credited "Johannes de Silentio," Prefaces (1844) "Nicolaus Notabene," and Stages on Life's Way (1845) was published by "Hilarius Bookbinder," per the Wikipedia bibliography.
What kind of humor did Kierkegaard use?
Mostly irony and deadpan. His narrators state gloomy or lazy positions with complete seriousness until they collapse, as in the Apathy entry of Either/Or, and he mocked empty promises with images like a shop sign reading "Pressing Done Here." Thomas Oden's 2004 anthology ranges from farce to aphorism.

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Sources

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