https://stemedplus.hcommons.org/members/frodothegnome/activity/ Activity feed for Chris A. Kramer. Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:08:12 +0000 https://buddypress.org/?v=10.6.0 en-US 30 hourly 2 b70bc657945c1727b9f350508bb1d1f5 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1901606/ Mon, 14 Oct 2024 03:00:55 +0000 RELIGION TODAY (2nd edition) offers a refreshing introduction to the academic study of religion with a particular emphasis on critically informed analysis. The book skillfully explores diverse religious traditions and phenomena, providing readers with a comprehensive overview that encourages them to engage critically with the subject and…[Read more]

]]> 0 a4b79933484947adfab62f64bee2131f https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1901605/ Mon, 14 Oct 2024 03:00:52 +0000 RELIGION TODAY (2nd edition) offers a refreshing introduction to the academic study of religion with a particular emphasis on critically informed analysis. The book skillfully explores diverse religious traditions and phenomena, providing readers with a comprehensive overview that encourages them to engage critically with the subject and…[Read more]

]]> 0 a9001c71b41257bcf48dde7aead6f842 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1901568/ Sun, 13 Oct 2024 20:22:24 +0000 RELIGION TODAY (2nd edition) offers a refreshing introduction to the academic study of religion with a particular emphasis on critically informed analysis. The book skillfully explores diverse religious traditions and phenomena, providing readers with a comprehensive overview that encourages them to engage critically with the subject and…[Read more]

]]> 0 2a58b4613055d1a9ec685f3a7a20ade0 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1870636/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 03:00:40 +0000 This entry investigates the connections between neo-populism and neo-conspiracism in the USA. One central thread is the rhetoric of purity that fosters rigid dichotomies of thought about identities, contributing to both populism and conspiracism, eliciting a neologism: conspirapopulism.

]]> 0 0a2bb3adedfb24b3a9b663dec4e18718 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1870635/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 03:00:27 +0000 This entry investigates the connections between neo-populism and neo-conspiracism in the USA. One central thread is the rhetoric of purity that fosters rigid dichotomies of thought about identities, contributing to both populism and conspiracism, eliciting a neologism: conspirapopulism.

]]> 0 689435585d16bb5a7ab64abc4597c98d https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1870634/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 03:00:26 +0000 This entry investigates the connections between neo-populism and neo-conspiracism in the USA. One central thread is the rhetoric of purity that fosters rigid dichotomies of thought about identities, contributing to both populism and conspiracism, eliciting a neologism: conspirapopulism.

]]> 0 9ef984eefd9e1ef542dde1ce5879c2d5 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1870633/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 03:00:24 +0000 A "good" arguer is like an architect with a penchant for civil and civic engineering. Such an arguer can design and present their reasons artfully about a variety of topics, as good architects do with a plenitude of structures and in various environments. Failures in this are rarely hidden for long, as poor constructions reveal themselves, often…[Read more]

]]> 0 1b3fc6e802901cb46c023ae6e4ef9926 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1870618/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 21:22:40 +0000 This entry investigates the connections between neo-populism and neo-conspiracism in the USA. One central thread is the rhetoric of purity that fosters rigid dichotomies of thought about identities, contributing to both populism and conspiracism, eliciting a neologism: conspirapopulism.

]]> 0 2a343ec301189d6bcd2c432688747a77 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1870613/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 21:14:34 +0000 A "good" arguer is like an architect with a penchant for civil and civic engineering. Such an arguer can design and present their reasons artfully about a variety of topics, as good architects do with a plenitude of structures and in various environments. Failures in this are rarely hidden for long, as poor constructions reveal themselves, often…[Read more]

]]> 0 2a0cd904a69017c6fa17d44b69185269 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1824196/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 02:24:42 +0000 People can laugh at almost anything. What's the deal with that? What makes something funny? This essay reviews some theories of what it is for something to be funny. Each theory offers insights into this question, but no single approach provides a comprehensive answer.

]]> 0 5704828a80c475ced2a73b22b1cfb13e https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1824195/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 02:24:40 +0000 People can laugh at almost anything. What's the deal with that? What makes something funny? This essay reviews some theories of what it is for something to be funny. Each theory offers insights into this question, but no single approach provides a comprehensive answer.

]]> 0 4dbf3dcc72c6b86ca726e816528ca603 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1824194/ Tue, 29 Nov 2022 02:24:39 +0000 People can laugh at almost anything. What's the deal with that? What makes something funny? This essay reviews some theories of what it is for something to be funny. Each theory offers insights into this question, but no single approach provides a comprehensive answer.

]]> 0 5e99048fb7eb96f083c39a04b9b6ab9a https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1824164/ Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:49:00 +0000 People can laugh at almost anything. What's the deal with that? What makes something funny? This essay reviews some theories of what it is for something to be funny. Each theory offers insights into this question, but no single approach provides a comprehensive answer.

]]> 0 522e067de79a37bd58e5180ffbc2c727 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1816483/ Wed, 05 Oct 2022 02:24:19 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 358d45d25384f26cbc94ccd830debc8d https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1816482/ Wed, 05 Oct 2022 02:24:09 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 564ed30ad4fb4493fbda2f108814f624 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1816481/ Wed, 05 Oct 2022 02:23:47 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 8b9c9a90e13311a43475a733adaf1096 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1816480/ Wed, 05 Oct 2022 02:23:45 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 8d52f473a9eaf8ab1c0d5e041940fe45 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1816479/ Wed, 05 Oct 2022 02:23:43 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 996e7192d21e9142c09eda5d400122f9 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1816466/ Tue, 04 Oct 2022 21:37:18 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 d65f02ba9892e62d89b16a9333ae09ee https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745150/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 02:34:12 +0000 I argue that an indirect and imaginative route through subversive humor offers a means to
raise consciousness about covert oppression and the mechanisms underlying it, reveal the errors
of those with power who complacently sustain systematic oppression, and even open those people
up to changing their minds. Subversive humor confronts serious…[Read more]

]]> 0 a04edafcc976a3eb1e79a253b5bc1565 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745149/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 02:34:10 +0000 I argue that an indirect and imaginative route through subversive humor offers a means to
raise consciousness about covert oppression and the mechanisms underlying it, reveal the errors
of those with power who complacently sustain systematic oppression, and even open those people
up to changing their minds. Subversive humor confronts serious…[Read more]

]]> 0 3e76d660577931aad94c29157c71a3b8 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745148/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 02:34:09 +0000 I argue that an indirect and imaginative route through subversive humor offers a means to
raise consciousness about covert oppression and the mechanisms underlying it, reveal the errors
of those with power who complacently sustain systematic oppression, and even open those people
up to changing their minds. Subversive humor confronts serious…[Read more]

]]> 0 bd5701ee2679ab9adb16564c3b417a33 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745147/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 02:34:00 +0000 I argue that an indirect and imaginative route through subversive humor offers a means to
raise consciousness about covert oppression and the mechanisms underlying it, reveal the errors
of those with power who complacently sustain systematic oppression, and even open those people
up to changing their minds. Subversive humor confronts serious…[Read more]

]]> 0 8252178790aec466a15581e6f51b864f https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745146/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 02:33:59 +0000 I argue that an indirect and imaginative route through subversive humor offers a means to
raise consciousness about covert oppression and the mechanisms underlying it, reveal the errors
of those with power who complacently sustain systematic oppression, and even open those people
up to changing their minds. Subversive humor confronts serious…[Read more]

]]> 0 79dd6b1620bb3564f2b8ccde981d1784 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745145/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 02:33:45 +0000 Some of Dave Chappelle’s uses of storytelling about seemingly mundane events, like his experiences with his “white friend Chip” and the police, are examples of what W.E.B. Du Bois calls “Positive Propaganda.” This is in contrast to “Demagoguery,” the sort of propaganda described by Jason Stanley that obstructs empathic recognition of others, and u…[Read more]

]]> 0 aa6dc62895aa1089fca7c9a7835eb61e https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745144/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 02:33:43 +0000 Some of Dave Chappelle’s uses of storytelling about seemingly mundane events, like his experiences with his “white friend Chip” and the police, are examples of what W.E.B. Du Bois calls “Positive Propaganda.” This is in contrast to “Demagoguery,” the sort of propaganda described by Jason Stanley that obstructs empathic recognition of others, and u…[Read more]

]]> 0 f88b68ddc016fe875ec99d5c97679777 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745143/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 02:33:42 +0000 Some of Dave Chappelle’s uses of storytelling about seemingly mundane events, like his experiences with his “white friend Chip” and the police, are examples of what W.E.B. Du Bois calls “Positive Propaganda.” This is in contrast to “Demagoguery,” the sort of propaganda described by Jason Stanley that obstructs empathic recognition of others, and u…[Read more]

]]> 0 a109fed101db8fb296a1268a9bf60438 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745142/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 02:33:31 +0000 Some of Dave Chappelle’s uses of storytelling about seemingly mundane events, like his experiences with his “white friend Chip” and the police, are examples of what W.E.B. Du Bois calls “Positive Propaganda.” This is in contrast to “Demagoguery,” the sort of propaganda described by Jason Stanley that obstructs empathic recognition of others, and u…[Read more]

]]> 0 9879fae4d12421c940dddb2b7bc53b54 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745141/ Thu, 08 Jul 2021 02:33:30 +0000 Some of Dave Chappelle’s uses of storytelling about seemingly mundane events, like his experiences with his “white friend Chip” and the police, are examples of what W.E.B. Du Bois calls “Positive Propaganda.” This is in contrast to “Demagoguery,” the sort of propaganda described by Jason Stanley that obstructs empathic recognition of others, and u…[Read more]

]]> 0 9dc9e5280fb50c6ef5a834f703a7fab2 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745075/ Wed, 07 Jul 2021 17:23:46 +0000 I argue that an indirect and imaginative route through subversive humor offers a means to
raise consciousness about covert oppression and the mechanisms underlying it, reveal the errors
of those with power who complacently sustain systematic oppression, and even open those people
up to changing their minds. Subversive humor confronts serious…[Read more]

]]> 0 2a16ea255c54992917552d7d40d93aa4 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1745074/ Wed, 07 Jul 2021 17:11:45 +0000 Some of Dave Chappelle’s uses of storytelling about seemingly mundane events, like his experiences with his “white friend Chip” and the police, are examples of what W.E.B. Du Bois calls “Positive Propaganda.” This is in contrast to “Demagoguery,” the sort of propaganda described by Jason Stanley that obstructs empathic recognition of others, and u…[Read more]

]]> 0 577c23fe9f6cd9bb9ee377ccdbc0ae36 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743521/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:29:37 +0000 It is trivially true that comedians make jokes and thus are not serious; they are “just playing.” But watching Louis CK, especially his performances in Chewed Up, Shameless, and Hilarious, it is evident that he has more in mind than simply getting his audience to frivolously guffaw. I will make the case that this is so given the content of som…[Read more]

]]> 0 bf04cf22943566e574227f7debb6fe9f https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743520/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:29:30 +0000 It is trivially true that comedians make jokes and thus are not serious; they are “just playing.” But watching Louis CK, especially his performances in Chewed Up, Shameless, and Hilarious, it is evident that he has more in mind than simply getting his audience to frivolously guffaw. I will make the case that this is so given the content of som…[Read more]

]]> 0 bf04cf22943566e574227f7debb6fe9f https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743519/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:29:30 +0000 It is trivially true that comedians make jokes and thus are not serious; they are “just playing.” But watching Louis CK, especially his performances in Chewed Up, Shameless, and Hilarious, it is evident that he has more in mind than simply getting his audience to frivolously guffaw. I will make the case that this is so given the content of som…[Read more]

]]> 0 5d3219668fb5aee805a974b184038b2b https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743518/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:29:21 +0000 It is trivially true that comedians make jokes and thus are not serious; they are “just playing.” But watching Louis CK, especially his performances in Chewed Up, Shameless, and Hilarious, it is evident that he has more in mind than simply getting his audience to frivolously guffaw. I will make the case that this is so given the content of som…[Read more]

]]> 0 74861172d57b06463c12a82ee512b743 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743517/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:29:20 +0000 It is trivially true that comedians make jokes and thus are not serious; they are “just playing.” But watching Louis CK, especially his performances in Chewed Up, Shameless, and Hilarious, it is evident that he has more in mind than simply getting his audience to frivolously guffaw. I will make the case that this is so given the content of som…[Read more]

]]> 0 cb5fde815267f8752a3668be2d4f2a8a https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743516/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:29:08 +0000 What has proportion to do with humor or irony? And what do either of these have to do with being human? Jokes, laughter, and funniness connote excess, exaggeration, incongruity, dissonance, etc., the opposite of proportion--balance, symmetry, Aristotle’s golden mean. Yet, The Philosopher maintains, the wit has found the ideal moderate position b…[Read more]

]]> 0 8fe1523e68242f07c9f2be375cc41f96 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743515/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:29:07 +0000 What has proportion to do with humor or irony? And what do either of these have to do with being human? Jokes, laughter, and funniness connote excess, exaggeration, incongruity, dissonance, etc., the opposite of proportion--balance, symmetry, Aristotle’s golden mean. Yet, The Philosopher maintains, the wit has found the ideal moderate position b…[Read more]

]]> 0 f8b7296a7e947088488b49961f441e59 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743514/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:28:58 +0000 What has proportion to do with humor or irony? And what do either of these have to do with being human? Jokes, laughter, and funniness connote excess, exaggeration, incongruity, dissonance, etc., the opposite of proportion--balance, symmetry, Aristotle’s golden mean. Yet, The Philosopher maintains, the wit has found the ideal moderate position b…[Read more]

]]> 0 218ca6591be1b4c485726d1954d8790e https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743513/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:28:57 +0000 What has proportion to do with humor or irony? And what do either of these have to do with being human? Jokes, laughter, and funniness connote excess, exaggeration, incongruity, dissonance, etc., the opposite of proportion--balance, symmetry, Aristotle’s golden mean. Yet, The Philosopher maintains, the wit has found the ideal moderate position b…[Read more]

]]> 0 27504d72f955ea7ae9e2f4dec3cb9c3f https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743512/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:28:45 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 27504d72f955ea7ae9e2f4dec3cb9c3f https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743511/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:28:45 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 ee2dd67a4dd6447173bde6270986e9bc https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743510/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:28:36 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 72770f7b5c86610e97b4b9ff0156ba65 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743509/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:28:35 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 05d68471d2e00b603feb398c5977429b https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743508/ Fri, 25 Jun 2021 02:28:34 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 fd78d8ad27913525cde1ebcf8ff78bb2 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743453/ Thu, 24 Jun 2021 22:10:38 +0000 It is trivially true that comedians make jokes and thus are not serious; they are “just playing.” But watching Louis CK, especially his performances in Chewed Up, Shameless, and Hilarious, it is evident that he has more in mind than simply getting his audience to frivolously guffaw. I will make the case that this is so given the content of som…[Read more]

]]> 0 47f462ccfb8c12455e8c6a1567ce9519 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743452/ Thu, 24 Jun 2021 22:00:47 +0000 What has proportion to do with humor or irony? And what do either of these have to do with being human? Jokes, laughter, and funniness connote excess, exaggeration, incongruity, dissonance, etc., the opposite of proportion--balance, symmetry, Aristotle’s golden mean. Yet, The Philosopher maintains, the wit has found the ideal moderate position b…[Read more]

]]> 0 2215536c86f05c7dcb1bdfad882be01f https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1743451/ Thu, 24 Jun 2021 21:50:43 +0000 In two very influential papers from 2008, Tamar Gendler introduced the concept of “alief” to describe the mental state one is in when acting in ways contrary to their consciously professed beliefs. For example, if asked to eat what they know is fudge, but shaped into the form of dog feces, they will hesitate, and behave in a manner that would be…[Read more]

]]> 0 4c7a9bf55c23ec99ba6fec2605f26504 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1741639/ Wed, 16 Jun 2021 02:27:53 +0000 Was Swift correct that “reasoning will never make a man correct an ill opinion, which by reasoning he never acquired” (Letter to a Young Gentleman)? If so, what recourse is there to change attitudes especially among those who continue to fervently believe unjustified claims and act upon them in a way that affects other people? I will answer the…[Read more]

]]> 0 d04f3284324e6f3961f1958435c45c08 https://hcommons.org/activity/p/1741638/ Wed, 16 Jun 2021 02:27:52 +0000 Was Swift correct that “reasoning will never make a man correct an ill opinion, which by reasoning he never acquired” (Letter to a Young Gentleman)? If so, what recourse is there to change attitudes especially among those who continue to fervently believe unjustified claims and act upon them in a way that affects other people? I will answer the…[Read more]

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