To be ridiculous is to be something which is highly incongruous or inferior, sometimes deliberately so to make people laugh or get their attention, and sometimes unintendedly so as to be considered laughable and earn or provoke ridicule and derision. It comes from the 1540s Latin "ridiculosus" meaning "laughable", from "ridiculus" meaning "that which excites laughter", and from "ridere" meaning "to laugh".Dictionary.com
/ref> "Ridiculous" is an adjective describing "the ridiculous". In common usage, "ridiculousness" is used as a synonym for

absurdity An absurdity is a state or condition of being extremely unreasonable, meaningless or unsound in reason so as to be irrational or not taken seriously. "Absurd" is an adjective used to describe an absurdity, e.g., "Tyler and the boys laughed at ...

nonsense Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwriters have u ...

. From a historical and technical viewpoint, "absurdity" is associated with argumentation and reasoning, "nonsense" with

semantics Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comput ...

and meaning, while "ridiculous" is most associated with laughter, superiority, deformity, and incongruity. '' Reductio ad absurdum'' is a valid method of

argument An argument is a statement or group of statements called premises intended to determine the degree of truth or acceptability of another statement called conclusion. Arguments can be studied from three main perspectives: the logical, the dialecti ...

, while '' reductio ad ridiculum'' is invalid. Argument by invective declaration of ridiculous is invalid, while arguments involving declarations of nonsense may summarize a

cogent The CoGeNT experiment has searched for dark matter. It uses a single germanium crystal (~100 grams) as a cryogenic detector for WIMP particles. CoGeNT has operated in the Soudan Underground Laboratory since 2009. Results Their first announc ...

semantic problem with lack or meaning or

ambiguity Ambiguity is the type of meaning in which a phrase, statement or resolution is not explicitly defined, making several interpretations plausible. A common aspect of ambiguity is uncertainty. It is thus an attribute of any idea or statement ...

. Historically, the ridiculous was central to initial theories of humor and laughter as first put forth by philosopher

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book '' Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...

. It is currently used in the

theory of humor There are many theories of humor which attempt to explain what humor is, what social functions it serves, and what would be considered humorous. Among the prevailing types of theories that attempt to account for the existence of humor, there are ...

to create laughter, shock, parody, or satire. Reactions to the ridiculous have been studied in

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

for its effects on memory, attention, and attitude in social hierarchies. These studies have been applied to the theory of advertisement regarding attention, memory, and alleviation of preexisting negative attitudes toward products. The ridiculous is often contrasted with the sublime, one of extreme inferiority, the other of extreme superiority, and often one can suddenly move from one extreme state to the other.

Humor

History: Incongruity, the superiority theory of humor, and deformity

The ridiculous often has extreme incongruity (things that are not thought to belong next to each other) or inferiority, e.g., "when something that was dignified is reduced to a ridiculous position (here noting the element of the incongruous), so that laughter is most intense when we escape from a 'coerced solemnity'." For

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

, we laugh at inferior or ugly individuals, because we feel a joy at being superior to them.

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no t ...

was reported by

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

as saying that the ridiculous was characterized by a display of self-ignorance.

Deformity A deformity, dysmorphism, or dysmorphic feature is a major abnormality of an organism that makes a part of the body appear or function differently than how it is supposed to. Causes Deformity can be caused by a variety of factors: *Arthritis an ...

was considered by some to be essential to the ridiculous.A history of English Laughter: Laughter from Beowulf to Beckett and Beyond, Manfred Pfister Psychological theories of humor include the "incongruity theory" and the "superiority theory", the latter of which the philosopher Thomas Hobbes was an early proponent. Hobbes claimed that laughter was either caused spontaneously, or by seeing a deformed thing to which one compares themselves and laugh as a form of self applause; "a sudden glory arising from sudden conception of some eminency in ourselves, by comparison of the infirmities of others." The Right Reverend

William Warburton William Warburton (24 December 16987 June 1779) was an English writer, literary critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759 until his death. He edited editions of the works of his friend Alexander Pope, and of William Shakespeare. Li ...

Lord Bishop "Lord Bishop" is a traditional form of address used for bishops since the Middle Ages, an era when bishops occupied the feudal rank of 'lord' by virtue of their office. Today it is sometimes still used in formal circumstances for any diocesan bis ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...

said in the early 18th century that, "Nothing is ridiculous but what is deformed". Using the ridiculous is a method in the theory of humor. Although common usage now considers "absurdity" to be synonymous with "ridiculousness", Hobbes discussed the two concepts as different, in that absurdity is viewed as having to do with invalid reasoning, as in

Hobbes' Table of Absurdity An absurdity is a state or condition of being extremely unreasonable, meaningless or unsound in reason so as to be irrational or not taken seriously. "Absurd" is an adjective used to describe an absurdity, e.g., "Tyler and the boys laughed at ...

, while ridiculousness has to do with laughter, superiority, ridicule, and deformity.

Native American Ritual Clown

The

Ritual clown The Pueblo clowns (sometimes called sacred clowns) are jesters or tricksters in the Kachina religion (practiced by the Pueblo natives of the southwestern United States). It is a generic term, as there are a number of these figures in the ritual ...

(

Heyókȟa The heyoka (, also spelled "haokah," "heyokha") is a kind of sacred clown in the culture of the Sioux (Lakota and Dakota people) of the Great Plains of North America. The heyoka is a contrarian, jester, and satirist, who speaks, moves and reacts ...

) in some Native American culture uses the painfully ridiculous, and is believed to become closer to the gods by its

primordial Primordial may refer to: * Primordial era, an era after the Big Bang. See Chronology of the universe * Primordial sea (a.k.a. primordial ocean, ooze or soup). See Abiogenesis * Primordial nuclide, nuclides, a few radioactive, that formed before t ...

ity. Native American clowns are ridiculous in their contrary and rule breaking antics. In the film '' Little Big Man'', the sacred clown rides sitting backwards on his horse, "washes" himself with dirt and "dries" himself with water. Heyókȟa are thought of as being incongruously backwards-forwards, upside-down, or contrary in nature. This spirit is often manifest by doing things backwards or unconventionally—riding a horse backwards, wearing clothes inside-out, or speaking backwards. For example, if food were scarce, a Heyókȟa would sit around and complain about how full he was; during a baking hot heat wave a Heyókȟa would shiver with cold and put on gloves and cover himself with a thick blanket. Similarly, when it is 40 degrees below freezing he will wander around naked for hours complaining that it is too hot.

Parody and satire in social commentary

The ridiculous can use uses both physical and conceptual inferiority and incongruity of juxtaposition to create

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

and

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

. In ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, Th ...

'',

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

parodies

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of ma ...

's argument for the existence of evil under a benign God using ''"ridiculous rationalizations of evil"''.''"ridiculous rationalizations of evil"''. Teaching Candide-A Debate, The French Review, Vol 61, No. 5, 1988, Theodore E. D. Braun, Felicia Sturzer, Martine Darmon Meyer

/ref> Leibniz claimed that God is constrained by logic, and created the best of all '' possible worlds''. After being reduced from a " dignified" state to its opposite, the

optimistic Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled ...

Dr. Pangloss (representing Leibniz) finds cause to consider his undignified position to be the best of all possible worlds, noting his own particular current happiness, which he argues could not have been attained without experiencing the atrocities in the previous narrative; his optimistic attitude is extremely incongruous with his experiences and extremely inferior undignified ultimate condition. In

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', apelike humans and their behavior are juxtaposed next to streamlined advanced technology with a highly avant garde score by composer

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century ...

; Ligeti also used ridiculous juxtaposition in his scores to create parody, and this tool was frequently used by composer Peter Maxwell Davies.

Deformity and incongruity in performance as social commentary, and lifestyle

Japanese Butoh dance

Japanese

Butoh is a form of Japanese dance theatre that encompasses a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement. Following World War II, butoh arose in 1959 through collaborations between its two key founde ...

uses both incongruity and deformity to create ridiculous dance performance and lifestyle; extreme movement methods that are highly incongruous with natural body movement in its dance and everyday lifestyle, as well as in its clothing, actions, costume and set design that is highly incongruous with societal norms, which often shock the audience or visitor, and are sometimes considered not only ridiculous, but incongruently "bizarre and beautiful" or " elegant and

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

Theatre of the Ridiculous

The Theatre of the Ridiculous is a genre of performance that uses highly incongruous stage settings and incongruous costumes such as

cross dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

to disturb or create shock in the audience. It began in New York City in the 1960s.

Psychology: attention, memory, and attitudes

Psychologists have studied human response to the ridiculous and its effects on attention and memory.The Psychology of Advertising, Walter Dill Scott, 1910

Advertising

The ridiculous is used in advertising to manipulate attention and attitudes toward products.

Juxtaposition with the sublime

The ridiculous is sometimes contrasted to the sublime where something with one quality is thought of as approaching, or likely to change to, the other.

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

, writing in ''

The Age of Reason ''The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology'' is a work by English and American political activist Thomas Paine, arguing for the philosophical position of deism. It follows in the tradition of 18th-century Briti ...

'' in 1795, said ''The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related, that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the sublime, makes the ridiculous; and one step above the ridiculous, makes the sublime again.'' ''Available online to subscribers''

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, reflecting on the state of his existence following his retreat from Moscow in 1812, famously remarked to Polish ambassador D. G. De Pradt: ''Du sublime au ridicule il n'y a qu'un pas'' (''There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous'').British Journal of Aesthetics, Aesthetics (1964) 4 (3), Harold Osborne, p. 284-5

/ref>

Reduction to the ridiculous, or "reductio ad ridiculum"

Reduction to the ridiculous (Latin: "reductio ad ridiculum", also called "Appeal to ridicule", "appeal to mockery", or "the Horse Laugh") is a logical fallacy which presents the opponent's argument in a way that grossly misrepresents it and appears ridiculous next to it, often so misrepresentative as to create a

straw man A straw man (sometimes written as strawman) is a form of argument and an informal fallacy of having the impression of refuting an argument, whereas the real subject of the argument was not addressed or refuted, but instead replaced with a false o ...

argument, rather than addressing the argument itself.''Wishful Thinking and Other Philosophical Reflections'', Nicholas Rescher, 2009 For example, in arguing against

idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ...

, with its sophisticated arguments that the world was not real but only existed in the

mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

, philosopher Dr. Johnson famously kicked a stone. Contrasting ridiculousness with absurdity in

reasoning Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, langu ...

, ''Reductio ad ridiculum'' is an invalid method of argument, while ''reductio ad absurdum'' is a valid method.

Invective

Arguments are often simply dismissed by calling them "ridiculous" as invective, without further argumentation. Philosopher

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

often dismissed philosophical positions by calling them "ridiculous" without further argument given.

References

{{reflist, 30em English words Emotions Humour Pejorative terms for people