Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy: Awaken the Social Assassin Within

Popular Culture and Philosophy #69

by Mark Ralkowski (editor)

In a promotional video for the eighth season of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm , Larry David appears as Godzilla, walking through the streets of New York City, terrorizing everyone who sees him. People scream and run for their lives. Larry, meanwhile, has a quizzical look on his face and asks, “What, are you people nuts?”
What makes Larry a monster, and why doesn’t he know that he’s a monster? Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy discusses several answers to these questions.
This book revolves around Curb -Larry, the character that the real Larry David plays on HBO’s popular television his outlook on life, his unusual ways of interacting with people, his inability or unwillingness to conform to the world. Many of the chapters discuss ethical and existential issues, such as whether Larry is a “bad apple.”
Larry doesn’t ask questions about free will, or wonder whether the world outside our minds really exists because he’s more like Socrates than Descartes. He tells bitter truths about how we live our lives. There's something heroic about Larry's independence from social conventions, and something tragic about his tendency to hurt people with his frankness. It's hard not to ask, should we curb our enthusiasm?

Genres: Philosophy

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 2012

Reviews

[Maher Razouk · Rating 5 out of 5]

تقول نظرية التفوق في الفكاهة : أن الفكاهة تنطوي على مشاعر التفوق على الآخرين أو على ذواتنا السابقة. نحن نضحك على الآخرين عندما يسقطون، أو يعلق ورق الحمام في أحذيتهم، أو يعانون من زيادة الوزن لدرجة أنهم لا يستطيعون الجلوس على نفس المقاعد التي نجلس عليها. ونضحك على أنفسنا - على صور قصات شعر المراهقين أو الأشياء التي قمنا بها في الكلية - لأننا نشعر أننا متفوقون على الأشخاص غير المسؤولين وعديمي الخبرة الذين اعتدنا أن نكونهم .

يمكن إرجاع هذه النظرية إلى أفلاطون ، وأرسطو ، الذي اعتقد أنه في الكوميديا يسعدنا النظر إلى مواضيع أدنى منا. لكن توماس هوبز هو الذي طور نظرية التفوق بشكل أوضح. يقول: «شغف الضحك ليس سوى مجد مفاجئ ناشئ عن تصور مفاجئ لبعض السمو في أنفسنا ، بالمقارنة مع عيوب الآخرين، أو مع عيبنا السابق». إذا كان هوبز على حق، فهناك شيء خبيث في الفكاهة. إنه مثل المفهوم الألماني Schadenfreude، والذي يعني، «المتعة المستمدة من مصائب الآخرين».
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Mark Ralkowski
Curb Your Enthusiasm and Philosophy
Translated By #Maher_Razouk

[Pete Judge · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a fun book. i’m trying to learn about philosophy but struggle so a book like this is handy for getting to comprehend some concepts, all through the medium of one of my favourite shows. the book made me laugh on multiple occasions thanks to the quotes from the show. chapters 11 and 12 went over my head a little but other than that it was great fun

[Adam Zerner · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn't really anything insightful that was said. But I love Curb so so so much, and it was just funny to hear the references being talked about. Overall, I found that the book did drag out, but that there were pleasant moments sprinkled throughout.

[Rayfes Mondal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't get much out of this but as a Curb fan it was a fun read though I skipped past several parts. It's not that the various authors didn't do a good job. I just wasn't interested in comparing Curb to traditional philosophers.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can read my review here:

https://thebeerthrillers.com/2021/12/...

[Jack Saideman]

my talmud

[carolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was good! not my favorite from the series but still good, i'd better recommend Seinfeld and Philosophy or The Simpsons and Philosophy. They explain more philosophy stuff than this one which is more stories from the series without as much analysis as i would have liked.

[Katy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m sure there are folks who will enjoy this. I just wish it had more to do with philosophy explicitly. If it did, I needed it spelled out more.