×
welcome covers

Your complimentary articles

You’ve read all of your complimentary articles for this month. To have complete access to the thousands of philosophy articles on this site, please


If you are a subscriber please sign in to your account.

To buy or renew a subscription please visit the Shop.

If you are a print subscriber you can contact us to create an online account.

Humour

The Inevitable Philosophy Lightbulb Jokes

How many philosophers does it take to change a light bulb?
It depends on how you define ‘change’.

How many existentialists does it take to change a light bulb?
Two – one to bemoan the darkness until the other redefines something else as light.

How many analytic philosophers does it take to change a light bulb?
None – its a pseudo-problem…light bulbs give off light (hence the name). If the bulb was broken and wasn’t giving off light, it wouldn’t be a ‘light bulb’ now would it? (oh, where has rigour gone?!)

How many Heraclitians does it take to change a light bulb?
None – it’s never the same light bulb again anyway

How many Epicureans does it take to change a light bulb?
None – they’re too busy taking advantage of the darkness!

How many Marxists does it take to change a lightbulb?
None. The lightbulb contains the seeds of its own revolution.