Dr. Chris A. Kramer: Humor in Resistance — How Frederick Douglass Did It | Sero Boost #76

As the saying goes, laughter is the best medicine. So, this week on Sero Boost: The Happiness Science Insights Podcast, host Lu Ngo interviews philosophy professor Dr. Chris A. Kramer to learn about what we can apply to our daily lives based on the works of American orator Frederick Douglass.

Based at Santa Barbara City College, Dr. Chris A. Kramer serves as both Assistant Professor and Chair of Philosophy. That aside, he is the advisor to the Philosophy Club and a professor for the Umoja and Raices programs. His interests intersect across the philosophy of humor, mind, religion, informal logic, existentialism and phenomenology, and oppression. His dissertation was on “Subversive Humor”, half about humor, half about oppression. Readers will laugh and cry, but mostly cry, and mostly because they are reading a dissertation; what has become of their lives?

In this episode, Dr. Chris A. Kramer delves into the various definitions and approaches to humor, citing notable philosophers such as Aristotle and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Additionally, he highlights how Frederick Douglass wielded intellectual play to challenge slavery and fight for equality, while evading cognitive biases and belief traps, in his speeches, autobiographies and interactions with other people.

Conversely, Lu and Dr. Chris A. Kramer also discuss when humor may not be the best prescription, as well as practical advice for evoking humor and laughter in our daily lives. So, tune in to learn about how humor can disrupt power dynamics, foster solidarity, and so much more!

Follow Dr. Chris A. Kramer’s work: https://sbcc.academia.edu/ChrisKramer

Produced by the Happiness Science Labs, a division of LMSL, the Life Management Science Labs. 

Explore LMSL at https://lifemanagementsciencelabs.com/ and visit http://ha.lmsl.net/ for additional information about Happiness Science Labs.

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