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
