A Sense of Humor Is Just Common Sense Dancing

William James? Clive James? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: A thoughtful person constructed the following vivid metaphor:

A sense of humor is just common sense dancing.

The U.S. philosopher William James and the Australian critic Clive James have both received credit for this statement. I am uncertain of these ascriptions because I have not seen any solid citations. Would you please explore this topic.

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has located no substantive evidence supporting the ascription to William James.

In 1979 Clive James published a review in the London newspaper “The Observer” of a television program titled “The Old Crowd” written by Alan Bennett and directed by Lindsay Anderson. The critic complained that Anderson had removed the jokes from the script “leaving a nebulous story about some hazily defined types moving aimlessly about in a half-furnished house.” Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[ref] 1979 February 4, The Observer, Television: Crumbling Crowd by Clive James, Quote Page 20, Column 8, London, England. (ProQuest) [/ref]

People like Lindsay Anderson can never learn what people like Alan Bennett should know in their bones: that common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humour is just common sense, dancing. Those who lack humour are without judgment and should be trusted with nothing.

“Humor” and “humour” are variant spellings of the same word. Outside the U.S. the spelling “humour” predominates.

The incorrect attribution to William James illustrates a known error mechanism. An attribution sometimes jumps from one person to another with a similar name.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

In 1980 columnist Addie Philko of the “Times Herald” in Port Huron, Michigan published the quotation:[ref] 1980 October 9, Times Herald, Potpourri by Addie Philko, Quote Page 1C, Column 1, Port Huron, Michigan. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]

Addie’s Thursday thought — “A sense of humor is just common sense dancing.” (Clive James.)

In 1981 Clive James published the collection “The Crystal Bucket: Television Criticism from the Observer 1976-79” which included the review containing the quotation. Thus, the remark achieved further distribution.[ref] 1981, The Crystal Bucket: Television Criticism from the Observer, 1976-79 by Clive James, Chapter: Exploring the medium, Date: February 4, 1979, Quote Page 168, Jonathan Cape, London. (Verified with scans) [/ref]

In 1992 the quotation appeared in the signature block of a message from Keith Eric Grant in the Usenet newsgroup alt.backrubs. No attribution was listed:[ref] 1992 November 9, Usenet discussion message, Newsgroup: alt.backrubs, From: Keith Grant at llnl.gov, Subject: massage, sensuality & sexuality. (Google Groups Search; Accessed Nov. 9, 2022) link [/ref]

Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. (or perhaps dancing is just common sense)

In 2002 the quotation appeared in the signature block of a message from Spuddie in the Usenet newsgroup alt.2eggs.sausage.beans … Oddly, William James received credit:[ref] 2002 November 13, Usenet discussion message, Google Group: alt.2eggs.sausage.beans.tomatoes.2toast.largetea.cheerslove, From: Spuddie at spuddie.net, Subject: I could really have done without this. (Google Groups Search; Accessed Nov. 9, 2022) link [/ref]

~~~Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.~~~ (William James)

In 2003 Kathleen Baty published “A Girl’s Gotta Do What a Girl’s Gotta Do: The Ultimate Guide To Living Safe & Smart” which included the following:[ref] 2003 Copyright, A Girl’s Gotta Do What a Girl’s Gotta Do: The Ultimate Guide To Living Safe & Smart by Kathleen Baty “The Safety Chick”, Chapter 10: Hand-to-Hand Combat, Quote Page 174, Rodale Inc., Emmaus, Pennsylvania. (Verified with scans) [/ref]

“Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.”
—William James

In 2006 the “Treasury of Wit & Wisdom: 4,000 of the Funniest, Cleverest, Most Insightful Things Ever Said” contained the following entry:[ref] 2006, Treasury of Wit & Wisdom: 4,000 of the Funniest, Cleverest, Most Insightful Things Ever Said, Compiled by Jeff Bredenberg, Topic: Humor, Quote Page 100, The Reader’s Digest Association, Pleasantville, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]

A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. — Clive James

In 2007 “Geary’s Guide To the World’s Great Aphorists” by James Geary included a section about William James which unfortunately mixed accurate and inaccurate quotations:[ref] 2007, Geary’s Guide To the World’s Great Aphorists by James Geary, Chapter: Philosophers and Theorists, Person: William James, Quote Page 336, Bloomsbury USA, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]

Essential Aphorisms

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

In 2020 “Garner’s Quotations: A Modern Miscellany” compiled by Dwight Garner included this entry:[ref] 2020, Garner’s Quotations: A Modern Miscellany, Compiled by Dwight Garner, Entry: Clive James, Quote Page 179, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York. (Verified with hardcopy) [/ref]

A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. Those who lack humor are without judgment and should be trusted with nothing.
—Clive James

In conclusion, QI believes that Clive James should receive credit for this quotation. Currently, there is no substantive support for the attribution to William James. QI conjectures that the similarity of the two names facilitated the misattribution.

Image Notes: An abstract illustration of two ballet dancers from geralt at Pixabay. Image has been resized.

(Great thanks to Elliott Oring whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration.)

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