This book is a study of the interrelationship between comedy and selfhood. While most people have a clear idea of what is meant by comedy, the notion of a self is much more enigmatic and therefore requires illumination. The book is accordingly divided into two parts: the first attempts to clarify what is meant by a self, and the second applies the resulting schematization of selfhood to the phenomenon of laughter. The two parts echo one another, contributing both to an understanding of comedy and to the ongoing philosophical question of identity.