Ironic Life

Ironic Life

Author: Richard J. Bernstein

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2018-03-15

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 1509505741

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"Just as philosophy begins with doubt, so also a life that may be called human begins with irony" so wrote Kierkegaard. While we commonly think of irony as a figure of speech where someone says one thing and means the opposite, the concept of irony has long played a more fundamental role in the tradition of philosophy, a role that goes back to Socrates Ð the originator and exemplar of the urbane ironic life. But what precisely is Socratic irony and what relevance, if any, does it have for us today? Bernstein begins his inquiry with a critical examination of the work of two contemporary philosophers for whom irony is vital: Jonathan Lear and Richard Rorty. Despite their sharp differences, Bernstein argues that they complement one other, each exploring different aspects of ironic life. In the background of Lear’s and Rorty’s accounts stand the two great ironists: Socrates and Kierkegaard. Focusing on the competing interpretations of Socratic irony by Gregory Vlastos and Alexander Nehamas, Bernstein shows how they further develop our understanding of irony as a form of life and as an art of living. Bernstein also develops a distinctive interpretation of Kierkegaard’s famous claim that a life that may be called human begins with irony. Bernstein weaves together the insights of these thinkers to show how each contributes to a richer understanding of ironic life. He also argues that the emphasis on irony helps to restore the balance between two different philosophical traditions philosophy as a theoretical discipline concerned with getting things right and philosophy as a practical discipline that shapes how we ought to live our lives.


The Big Book of Irony

The Big Book of Irony

Author: Jon Winokur

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2013-12-10

Total Pages: 149

ISBN-13: 146685975X

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Jon Winokur defines and classifies irony and contrasts it with coincidence and cynicism, and other oft-confused concepts that many think are ironic. He looks at the different forms irony can take, from an irony deficiency to visual irony to an understatement, using photographs and relate-able examples from pop culture. * "Irony in Action" looks at irony in language, both verbal and visual, while "Bastions of Irony" and "Masters of Irony" look at institutions and individuals steeped in irony, though not always intentionally. PLUS: * The Annals of Irony looks at irony, and its lack thereof, throughout history. A delight for anyone with a smart, dark sense of humor.


Chic Ironic Bitterness

Chic Ironic Bitterness

Author: R. Jay Magill

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2009-12-18

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0472024329

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A brilliant and timely reflection on irony in contemporary American culture “This book is a powerful and persuasive defense of sophisticated irony and subtle humor that contributes to the possibility of a genuine civic trust and democratic life. R. Jay Magill deserves our congratulations for a superb job!” —Cornel West, University Professor, Princeton University “A well-written, well-argued assessment of the importance of irony in contemporary American social life, along with the nature of recent misguided attacks and, happily, a deep conviction that irony is too important in our lives to succumb. The book reflects wide reading, varied experience, and real analytical prowess.” —Peter Stearns, Provost, George Mason University “Somehow, Americans—a pragmatic and colloquial lot, for the most part—are now supposed to speak the Word, without ironic embellishment, in order to rebuild the civic culture. So irony’s critics decide it has become ‘worthy of moral condemnation.’ Magill pushes back against this new conventional wisdom, eloquently defending a much livelier American sensibility than the many apologists for a somber ‘civic culture’ could ever acknowledge." —William Chaloupka, Chair and Professor, Department of Political Science, Colorado State University The events of 9/11 had many pundits on the left and right scrambling to declare an end to the Age of Irony. But six years on, we're as ironic as ever. From The Simpsons and Borat to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, the ironic worldview measures out a certain cosmopolitan distance, keeping hypocrisy and threats to personal integrity at bay. Chic Ironic Bitterness is a defense of this detachment, an attitude that helps us preserve values such as authenticity, sincerity, and seriousness that might otherwise be lost in a world filled with spin, marketing, and jargon. And it is an effective counterweight to the prevailing conservative view that irony is the first step toward cynicism and the breakdown of Western culture. R. Jay Magill, Jr., is a writer and illustrator whose work has appeared in American Prospect, American Interest, Atlantic Monthly, Foreign Policy, International Herald Tribune, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Print, amongother periodicals and books. A former Harvard Teaching Fellow and Executive Editor of DoubleTake, he holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Hamburg in Germany. This is his first book.


Irony and Sarcasm

Irony and Sarcasm

Author: Roger Kreuz

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2020-02-18

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0262538261

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A biography of two troublesome words. Isn't it ironic? Or is it? Never mind, I'm just being sarcastic (or am I?). Irony and sarcasm are two of the most misused, misapplied, and misunderstood words in our conversational lexicon. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, psycholinguist Roger Kreuz offers an enlightening and concise overview of the life and times of these two terms, mapping their evolution from Greek philosophy and Roman rhetoric to modern literary criticism to emojis. Kreuz describes eight different ways that irony has been used through the centuries, proceeding from Socratic to dramatic to cosmic irony. He explains that verbal irony—irony as it is traditionally understood—refers to statements that mean something different (frequently the opposite) of what is literally intended, and defines sarcasm as a type of verbal irony. Kreuz outlines the prerequisites for irony and sarcasm (one of which is a shared frame of reference); clarifies what irony is not (coincidence, paradox, satire) and what it can be (among other things, a socially acceptable way to express hostility); recounts ways that people can signal their ironic intentions; and considers the difficulties of online irony. Finally, he wonders if, because irony refers to so many different phenomena, people may gradually stop using the word, with sarcasm taking over its verbal duties.


The Meaning of Irony

The Meaning of Irony

Author: Frank Stringfellow Jr.

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 1994-07-01

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1438421494

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Genuinely interdisciplinary in approach, The Meaning of Irony brings together literary analysis and, from psychoanalysis, both theory and case studies. Its investigation ranges from everyday examples of verbal irony—conscious and unconscious—to the complex irony of literature. This book provides the first full account of verbal irony from a psychoanalytic point of view. Stringfellow shows how the rhetorical tradition, by viewing the literal level of irony as something the speaker doesn't really mean, flattens out the rich ambiguities of irony and misses the unconscious meanings that are hidden behind ironic statement. He argues that only psychoanalysis can recover these unconscious meanings and reveal the origins of irony.


Isn't it Ironic?

Isn't it Ironic?

Author: Ian Kinane

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-04-25

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1000377016

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This volume addresses the relationship between irony and popular culture and the role of the consumer in determining and disseminating meaning. Arguing that in a cultural climate largely characterised by fractious communications and perilous linguistic exchanges, the very role of irony in popular culture needs to come under greater scrutiny, it focuses on the many uses, abuses, and misunderstandings of irony in contemporary popular culture, and explores the troubling political populism at the heart of many supposedly satirical and (apparently) non-satirical texts. In an environment in which irony is frequently claimed as a defence for material and behaviour judged controversial, how do we, as a society entrenched in forms of popular culture and media, interpret work that is intended as satire but which reads as unironic? How do we accurately decode works of popular film, literature, television, music, and other cultural forms which sell themselves as bitingly ironic commentaries on current society, but which are also problematic celebrations of the very issues they purport to critique? And what happens when texts intended and received in one manner are themselves ironically recontextualised in another? Bringing together studies across a range of cultural texts including popular music, film and television, Isn’t it Ironic? will appeal to scholars of the social sciences and humanities with interests in cultural studies, media studies, popular culture, literary studies and sociology.


Irony and Outrage

Irony and Outrage

Author: Dannagal Goldthwaite Young

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 0190913088

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This text explores the aesthetics, underlying logics, and histories of two seemingly distinct genres - liberal political satire and conservative opinion talk - making the case that they should be thought of as the logical extensions of the psychology of the left and right, respectively.


Irony

Irony

Author: Douglas Colin Muecke

Publisher:

Published: 1982

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13:

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Ironic

Ironic

Author: Pamela Leigh Starr

Publisher: Genesis Press, Inc.

Published: 2009-04-01

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 1585715212

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Teresa Lewis is living in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains while taking time off to write. Her life takes an unexpected turn when a plane crashes near her cabin and she becomes rescuer and nurse for a man she thinks is a bigot. Trapped inside by the howling wind and swirling snow, Teresa finds that her patient is not what she thinks. After weeks spent in his company, Teresa is intrigued by his soft-spoken strength and humor, and soon finds herself doing something she's never done before: fall in love. Trey awoke to intense pain, discovering that he didn't remember who he was and how he had gotten here. Trey discovers many other things in the next few weeks of his life: strength, patience, endurance and, most importantly, love. He may not know who he was, but he knew he was falling in love and planned on making Teresa his; until, that is, his memories begin to return. . .


Ironic Technics

Ironic Technics

Author: Don Ihde

Publisher: Automatic Press Vip

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788792130181

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Even before we humans became modern as homo sapiens we were busy inventing technologies. But our technologies also invent us as humans. And as we reflect upon this process, too often our interpretations have taken utopian or dystopian directions: our technologies will make life infinitely better and lead us into utopian realms, or our technologies will condemn us to alienation or even destroy our humanity itself. This set of essays, however, looks at the ironic dimensions of human-technology relations, at unpredicted, unexpected, surprizing outcomes. Are we today in a 'knowledge society'? And, if so, are we wiser? Can we design' intended uses into our technologies? Or, do they always surprise us with the unexpected? Can we 'technologize' our very bodies? Become ever more Cyborgean? And have we or could we become 'posthuman'? Here, drawing from a rich history of technologies, Ironic Technics takes a critical look at these contemporary, but also ancient questions.