This dissertation examines the word ;;sophisticated” by re-situating it within the Greek tradition and explicating how such a move informs a study of humor and amusement. In regard to ;;techniques and theories,” the OED suggests the word sophisticated can be used to mean ;;highly developed” and ;;employing advanced or refined methods,” but also ;;not plain, honest, or straightforward,” and ;;containing alterations intended to deceive.” In other words, as a discourse descriptor, ;;sophisticated” can be taken complimentarily to mean complex, intricate, and worldly-wise, but also disparagingly to mean deceptive, misleading, and superficially-wise. The opposition between these meanings illustrates the central idea of this study—that what lies at the heart of both sophistic rhetoric and amusement is contradiction: a state of tension in which ;;incompatible things” are held together ;;because both or all are necessary and true” (Haraway). In the context of contemporary North American stand-up comedy, this dissertation links sophistic rhetoric and humor theory such that they mutually support each other, gain meaning, and become more approachable. Defined as an orientation to contradiction, sophistic rhetoric provides a way to theorize humor, while the universal phenomenon of amusement provides justification for theorizing a thing called ;;sophistic rhetoric.”
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;;That’s Gold, Jerry, Gold!”: The Sophisticated Contradiction at the Heart of Stand-Up Comedy
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