Friday, March 31, 2006
Joking, as a blunt instrument of deceit
Resistance to blatantly non-play activities such as teeth cleaning or getting dressed,has been on the rise lately. Havana's blind compliance to adult wisdom has all but disappeared.
When getting ready for bed, we have to close Havana's door or its chasey chasey down the hallway. Last night, at PJ time, she hid in her closet. I enquired on her intensions. "I'm peeing" she said. I immediately switched into cleanup mindset until Ms. Innocent added, "I't's a joke."
Cracking a joke goes beyond simply knowing right from wrong.
From a marxist perspective Havana understanding a joke is her first step into the world of dialectical thought. Joking is not about right or wrong. It demands a basic understanding of the contradiction between right and wrong. Humor I once saw described as objective reality clashing with subjective expectation. To be able to joke one must recognise right and wrong as a single component, opposites united.
But for Havana this new development of being able to joke is most important for another reason. Joking can now be added to Havana's increasingly endless arsenal of excuses for delaying her innevitable bedtime.
When getting ready for bed, we have to close Havana's door or its chasey chasey down the hallway. Last night, at PJ time, she hid in her closet. I enquired on her intensions. "I'm peeing" she said. I immediately switched into cleanup mindset until Ms. Innocent added, "I't's a joke."
Cracking a joke goes beyond simply knowing right from wrong.
From a marxist perspective Havana understanding a joke is her first step into the world of dialectical thought. Joking is not about right or wrong. It demands a basic understanding of the contradiction between right and wrong. Humor I once saw described as objective reality clashing with subjective expectation. To be able to joke one must recognise right and wrong as a single component, opposites united.
But for Havana this new development of being able to joke is most important for another reason. Joking can now be added to Havana's increasingly endless arsenal of excuses for delaying her innevitable bedtime.
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