Philosophical Thinking is multi-dimensional thinking: the epistemic: what do we know? - the metaphysical: what are we? - the ethical: are our actions right or wrong?
A Brave New Humour, inspired by the technological advancements of our era, depicts a time in society in which everyone is complacent yet where senses of humour have withered away and laughing is no longer a natural process. Instead, laughing occurs via genetic engineering, in which there are distinct laughing castes. Only the top two laughing castes exhibit genetic variation - they can laugh spontaneously; the other laughing castes are multiple clones of one fertilization, only able to joke due to preprogrammed humour. Their humour could be compared to early 21st century computer's joke-telling programs. All members of this new society are raised to identify with their laughing caste, and to appreciate only what is funny for their caste, especially the constant propagation of bad humour (i.e., offensive humour, jokes that evoke nervous laughter) and, in particular, the mild hallucinogen Mona Lisa that makes everyone good humoured.
The story employs themes from science fiction to motivate the case against bad humour and genetic sense of humour engineering. A major concern in A Brave New Humour is the following:
We constantly compare the new humour genetics to "giving someone a sense of humour," but if history is a guide, this genetic humour engineering will not lead to human beings having a sense of humour, but instead will inevitably lead to humourcide: the "natural laughers" eradicating the "fake laughers" or vice-versa.