The old joke has it that analysing comedy is like dissecting a frog: nobody laughs, and the frog dies. Fair enough. But comedy raises all sorts of moral and philosophical issues - particularly today when it seems increasingly polarised along ‘left/right’ or – perhaps more accurately – social justice v popularist lines, and when we’ve seen numerous comedians face ‘cancellation’ for causing offence. So, who and what is it ok for comedians to target? 

For example, we hear the phrases 'punching up' and 'punching down' a lot, but what does that mean? Is the one always okay and the other never okay? And, while many comedians are only too happy to target their opponents, they often seem to struggle when ridiculing their ‘own side’ – leading to accusations of lazily attacking the same ‘easy’ targets resulting more in ‘clap comedy’ than outright laughter. 

So, should comedians be prepared to lambast all and anyone without fear or favour? And, if so, are the moral norms around free speech different for comedians or is the defence "it's just a joke!" a bit suspect? We’ll discuss these issues and more. And, whilst we can't promise any laughs, no frogs will die (we hope).

Speakers:

Andy Shaw is co-founder and organiser of Comedy Unleashed – a stand-up comedy club for free-thinking comedians. Andy used to write weekly spoofs for The Spectator.

Simon Kirchin is Professor of Applied Ethics at the University of Leeds and Director of IDEA, the Ethics Centre. Simon is currently writing a book about comedy and free speech, and hosts a podcast, Philosophy Gets Schooled.

For more information visit the Leeds Salon website.

(This event is also a satellite event for the Battle of Ideas 2025: www.battleofideas.org.uk/)