Not taking oneself too seriously

The value of humour in intimate relationships

Bibliographic Data

ID10688281
AuthorsJessica Saunders (0000-0003-1290-275X, Durham University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume76
Issue1
Pages416-425
Publication date2025-12-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Philosophical Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8094 • E-ISSN: 1467-9213
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/pq/pqaf057
OpenAlexW4411713201
LanguageEN
References cited23

This paper lays out one positive role that humour can play in intimate relationships, focusing on the value of not taking oneself too seriously. It begins by looking at the positive value of humour in general (Section I), before applying this to intimate relationships (Section II). In doing so, it draws upon a general account of the value of humour, which claims that humour can defuse our fight or flight responses, and help us see ourselves honestly as others do. I make the case that both of these are beneficial in intimate relationships, as spaces where we can be safe and accepted for the particular individuals we are. Not taking ourselves too seriously, I argue, can help us cultivate vulnerability, trust, safety, and acceptance together

Aesthetics · Art · Psychoanalysis · Statistics · Value (mathematics) · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Humor Studies and Applications · Mathematics · Media Influence and Health · Psychology · Social Psychology

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