Abstract

This enquiry shows the various uses of laughter, in the broad sense, in stoicism and epicureanism, united on this point by the figure of Democritus. They actually made quite different use of laughter. The Stoics associate the tranquility of the soul with calmness of breath, which makes the smile the privileged sign of joyful manifestation. Laughing out loud and derisive laughter are suspicious manifestations, too close to those excessive swellings that are passions. The Epicureans, on the other hand, do not hesitate to use mocking laughter as a means of destroying false values. As an argumentative tool aiming at destruction, laughter can therefore be outrageous, which does not mean that the totality of Epicurean affectivity is reduced to this demystifying laughter.