Comic Relief

Comic Relief: A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor develops an inclusive theory that integrates psychological, aesthetic, and ethical issues relating to humor Offers an enlightening and accessible foray into the serious business of humor Reveals how standard theories of humor fail to explain its true nature and actually support traditional prejudices against humor as being antisocial, irrational, and foolish Argues that humor’s benefits overlap significantly with those of philosophy Includes a foreword by Robert Mankoff, Cartoon Editor of The New Yorker

Foreword ix Robert Mankoff Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii 1 No Laughing Matter: The Traditional Rejection of Humor and Traditional Theories of Humor 1 Humor, Anarchy, and Aggression 2 The Superiority Theory: Humor as Anti-social 4 The Incongruity Theory: Humor as Irrational 9 The Relief Theory: Humor as a Pressure Valve 15 The Minority Opinion of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas: Humor as Playful Relaxation 23 The Relaxation Theory of Robert Latta 24 2 Fight or Flight – or Laughter: The Psychology of Humor 27 Humor and Disengagement 28 Humor as Play 33 Laughter as a Play Signal 36 3 From Lucy to “I Love Lucy”: The Evolution of Humor 40 What Was First Funny? 41 The Basic Pattern in Humor: The Playful Enjoyment of a Cognitive Shift is Expressed in Laughter 49 The Worth of Mirth 64 4 That Mona Lisa Smile: The Aesthetics of Humor 69 Humor as Aesthetic Experience 70 Humor and Other Ways of Enjoying Cognitive Shifts: The Funny, Tragic, Grotesque, Macabre, Horrible, Bizarre, and Fantastic 73 Tragedy vs. Comedy: Is Heavy Better than Light? 75 Enough with the Jokes: Spontaneous vs. Prepared Humor 83 5 Laughing at the Wrong Time: The Negative Ethics of Humor 90 Eight Traditional Moral Objections 91 The Shortcomings in the Contemporary Ethics of Humor 98 A More Comprehensive Approach: The Ethics of Disengagement 101 First Harmful Effect: Irresponsibility 102 Second Harmful Effect: Blocking Compassion 103 Third Harmful Effect: Promoting Prejudice 105 6 Having a Good Laugh: The Positive Ethics of Humor 111 Intellectual Virtues Fostered by Humor 112 Moral Virtues Fostered by Humor 115 Humor during the Holocaust 119 7 Homo Sapiens and Homo Ridens: Philosophy and Comedy 125 Was Socrates the First Stand-up Comedian? 126 Humor and the Existentialists 129 The Laughing Buddha 133 8 The Glass is Half-Empty and Half-Full: Comic Wisdom 139 Notes 146 Bibliography 160 Index 179