Abstract
‘Humour and value’ concerns the relation of humour to value, specifically in terms of its social functions. Humour, and the comic amusement that attends it, has a crucial role to play in the construction of communities. It can serve as a disseminator as well as an enforcer of norms. But the social function of humour also raises certain moral questions, including: When is humour immoral? Is laughing at immoral humour itself immoral? These questions are especially pressing in our times where judgements of so-called political correctness are rampant and where many contemporary comics seem dedicated to responding to the forces of political correctness by pushing the envelope at an ever-escalating pace.
