Definitions HQ

The Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a compromise formation... that is, most articulate repressed sexual and/or aggressive impulses, but they do so in a disguised form which is socially acceptable.

The Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a distortion whereby the distortion is reversible and the original thought completely recoverable..

The Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠where the thoughts that society suppresses or forbids can be expressed.

The Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a two-dimensional expression consisting of a thought and a technique (which turns a thought into a joke). On the one hand, if the technique is undone, the joke disappears.

The Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠an (acceptable) expressions of hidden aggressions.

The Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠an ordinary thought expressed in a somewhat extraordinary form.

The Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠capable of being conceptualized in terms of the same three major mechanisms as the dream: Condensation, displacement, and indirect representation.

The Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠capable of surreptitiously linking two topics or domains that logical 'mature' thought keeps separate in making a sudden and unexpected link between them, through lexical short cut or double-entendre, the tendentious joke produces pleasure by obviating the need for repression and we laugh off the quota of now-useless repressive energy.

The Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠something like a puzzle in that their solutions have to be discovered. They are problematic patterns that can be resolved only when an alternate pattern informing the subject matter is discerned. They are sequential not merely in a narrative sense but in terms of the conceptual patterns or domains introduced.

The Joke (n.) is, ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠at root, a proposition: a statement with a subject and predicate contained within the joke that is basically sensible and commensurate with our conceptions and experiences of the world.

The Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠entirely reliant on form. If any joke is reduced to its content the humor evaporates.

The Joke (n.) provides ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠glimpses of the side of the mind that refuses to respect the inhibitions that structure the surface of conscious life.

The Joke (n.) is, ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠when hostile, often criticism directed against the subject himself, or, to put it more cautiously, against someone in whom the subject has a share a collective person, that is (the subject's own nation, for instance).

The Joke (n.) allows ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠us to exploit something ridiculous in our enemy which we could not bring forward openly or consciously, thus evading restrictions and opening sources of pleasure that have become inaccessible.

The Joke's (n.) underlying ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠thought is not unconscious, but rather, completely accessible to consciousness. They merely acquire their distinctive form by virtue of their detour through the unconscious.

The Joke (n.) is, ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠in contrast to a dream, completely social. They demand to be communicated. Consequently, jokes must satisfy a requisite condition of intelligibility. When the thought underlying a joke undergoes transformation in the unconscious, it may be distorted only up to the point that it can be reclaimed by conscious understanding.

The Joke (n.) is, ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠in the psychoanalytic view, not an expression of unconscious ideas in disguised form; rather, jokes express perfectly conscious ideas in distorted form.

A Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠always underlain by a thought. The thought is prior to the joke and the joke is then a transformed or distorted thought.

A Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠that whereby a preconscious thought is given over for a moment to unconscious revision and the outcome of this is at once grasped by conscious perception.

A Joke (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the most social of all the mental functions that aim at a yield of pleasure (while a dream is the most private).