Kant's Theory of Jokes and the Bridge Between Nature and Freedom

This papers offers an interpretation of Kant's theory of jokes in KU §54 as centred on the harmonic interplay between mind and body. Part I reconstructs Kant’s theory of the joke. Part II critically examines scholarly attempts to identify the positive role the joke theory plays in the third Critique, arguing that these attempts over-intellectualise Kant’s theory due to certain overlaps between the joke and the beautiful and the sublime. Part III advances a proposal regarding the genuine contribution of the joke to Kant’s project. As I argue, Kant suggests something akin to a preestablished harmony between mind and body, which he supports not purely with theoretical but with performative evidence, by presenting his readers with jokes.