Redeeming Laughter, 2nd Edition

14 The Comic as a Signal of Transcendence

The term transcendence carries a heavy freight of diverse meanings in philosophical and theological discourse, and no useful purpose would be served by untangling all these meanings here. However, the notion of transcendence has appeared at several points in the ruminations of this book, most loudly in the preceding two chapters. It is useful, therefore, to clarify at least two meanings of the term relevant to the phenomenon of the comic: First, the comic transcends the reality of ordinary, everyday existence; it posits, however temporarily, a different reality in which the assumptions and rules of ordinary life are suspended. This is, as it were, transcendence in a lower key; it does not in itself have ...