---yes, yes they are.
Do you ever find yourself in a philosophical discussion (or an arbitrary, idiotic debate) referencing a stand-up comic or a gag you saw on TV rather than the usual Bible reference or mention of Neitzche or Aristotle? Well, I do. Actually I find this happening very often. Socrates, Descarte, and Martin Luther King have all been modernized and replaced by Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Dave Chappelle. These guys are our thinkers. They take all the stuff that's going on around us and make so much sense out of it.
At times, we're just laughing at the absurd, but more often than not we're laughing at that which is true. We laugh at truths that aren't often or aren't easily exposed. We have philosophical geniuses (No, strike that----) We have witty comedians who bring those things to our attention in hilarious ways. From the mundane to the political, from the racist to the sexist, from gossip to morality, from women shopping to what the president is or isnt doing; we have comedians presenting information in what psychology has found to be one of the most effective ways to instill a long-lasting memory in the mind of a human being---- humor.
When Socrates, Plato and Aristotle gathered around the Parthenon to discuss their plethora of topics, I bet their thoughts never reached the possibilities of their predecessors being Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and Margaret Cho. We still have our philosophers, or those who claim to be so. They grace our universities and other institutions throughout our nation, but no one listens to these people (or at least I don't). As far as I know, they get passed off as nostalgics and ignored like the 10 o'clock news. Actually we dont even have the news anymore... we have Jon Stewart's Daily Show and SNL's Weekend Update. The news tells facts and unfortunate happenings while Jon Stewart and others are philosophers who make sense of it all whether you agree with them or not.
The dictionary states a philosopher is merely someone who studies life and reality--- so I guess that makes us all philosophers... even newscasters. But what set Socrates and all of them apart from the rest of the "philosophers" in their time was their ability to reach the masses with their unique and effective style of thinking. They had wit. The wit that was popular at the time was their brand of wit--- The "stroke your beard and slowly speak" kind of wit. Well now-a-days, the popular wit to have is comedic wit. That's not only who we all want to see, but that's who we're willing to pay to see. I'm sure if Aristotle, Kant, or Rand saw how things were going today, they would at least crack a joke or two. It's just the times were in. Maybe the philosophers aren't the ones getting funnier... Maybe life is just getting funnier. But hey, that's just what I think. Let me know your thoughts in a comment below. Peace.