The three primary mechanisms of Laughter

Almost every major figure in the history of philosophy has proposed a theory, but after two centuries of discussion there has been little consensus about what constitutes humor. The topic of humor is currently understudied in the discipline of philosophy. Scope and significance of the study of humor but they are the three main theory (Aaron). The three primary mechanisms that create laughter are the superiority theory, relief theory, and incongruity theory.

To begin with, the superiority theory is the idea is that a person laughs at other peoples misfortunes. We feel superiority to the object being joke on. This theory go way back in time to the fifth century B.C.E., when Plato expressed the idea to his people that jokes should be removed from stories about the gods before they are presented to childrens. Plato's idea was that if children were muse by the gods, they would feel they were superior and hence would lose respect (jrank). As I read this I can pictures where he was coming from with that idea. In those times praying and respecting the gods were very important. Centuries later Thomas Hobbes spelled out more clearly the idea that humor is an expression of superiority. He defines it as "the sudden glory rising from the sudden idea of ourselves, by comparison with the lesser of others." A common form of superiority is when a person slips on a banana peel, and whoever are around them start to laugh because they feel superior (jrank).

Next, is the incongruity theory which is one of the oldest and most developed theories of humor made known by Kant, which humor happens when there is an incongruity between what we expect and what actually happens like, for ex. cruelty, a breach of contract, or a bad instrument. In the ear...

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...nd action someone is doing something funny to get a react In both, you have to get a idea for others opinion or to evoke an emotion. On stage when doing a parody the characters have to release anything that they are hold inside to play that character best position similar to releasing any tension in that jokes or punch line .

Works Cited

"5 Leading Theories for Why We Laugh?and the Jokes That Prove Them Wrong." Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.

"Humor - Superiority Theory - Laugh, Philosopher, Idea, and Hutcheson - JRank Articles." Science Encyclopedia - JRank Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

"Humor [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.

Smuts, Aaron. "Humor [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.