Pankaj Singh

Hasan Minhaj uses his craft of comedy both for the laughs and for his takes, points, messages, claims, and arguments. The comedy is driven by his conviction that great comedy routines, in their essence, are great philosophical positions. This, we might say, is his philosophy of humor. When doing comedy, he often attempts to slip in social messages by combining his comedy with arguments, thus presenting his viewpoints (and countering those of others) on several topics through various formats of his work. Drawing his arguments from his own experience of being an Indian-American Muslim, he uses his comedy to forward his arguments about immigrants’ struggles and stories, and has also been particularly vocal about issues related to identity. This chapter primarily focuses on highlighting Hasan’s philosophy, ideas, claims, and arguments on various identities, from national and ethnic identities to personal identity; however, the chapter will also briefly present and comment on a few other philosophical concepts that can be found in Hasan’s work. In the end, we shall see that Hasan provides us with a prime example of how the words of a comedian can also contain deep philosophical insights and messages.

In the prior studies, the significance of working memory is linked to language acquisition which helped in understanding these disorders better (Wen, & Li, 2019). However, there is one component that is not being taken into consideration with Second Language Acquisition (SLA) (Choi, 2019). This study collected data from 122 adolescents and young adults (Female = 61, Male = 61) in the age range 15–22 years. Using four subtests of David’s Battery of Differential Abilities (DBDA), measures of VSSP and verbal ability were measured. Multiple regression analysis was carried out between the measures of VSSP and verbal ability. The results showed promise and the measures of VSSP were found to be a positive predictor of second language comprehension in the current sample. Whereas, no gender differences were observed with regard to verbal ability. With the supporting literature, this study evidently provided insights into the overall relationship.

Intensely loyal, practical, straightforward, almost fearless, with a wry sense of humor, Amos is also analytical, a quick thinker, and exceedingly aware of his surroundings. Amos wasn't always fond of Holden. After spending tough and adventurous times together, Amos changes his attitude toward Holden and regards him as a good person. Amos embodies Friedrich Nietzsche's famous slogan, “live dangerously!” Nietzsche traced the beginning of slave morality to a creative reversal of values fueled by ressentiment. According to Nietzsche, our fundamental drive is the desire to gain and express power. Looking at Amos through a Nietzschean lens makes us reluctant to judge the character as good or evil. Amos has not channeled or sublimated his will to power. He has not overcome himself and humanity. Ultimately, he is far from becoming Nietzsche's ideal figure, the Ubermensch.