There are many ways that people use humor. It has been used both in positive and negative ways. The negative, or more aggressive, view of humor is “evident in ancient writings” and “in the merciless teasing that children inflict on one another.”, However, in modern times, humor is now commonly seen as a positive aspect and that the laughter that arises is the “expression [an] incongruity.” Because of these two conflicting view of humor, there have been multiple theories proposed to explain it.
There are two major theories in explaining humor. The first is the superiority theory. In line with the past views on humor, the superiority theory takes on a much more negative, serious, and intense take on how humor functions and why we laugh. The
…show more content…
This theory focuses “more specifically on the cognition and [gives] less attention to the social and emotional aspects of humor.” The incongruity-resolution theory can be applied to many forms of humor. One example is visual incongruities. We laugh when we see a young child try to act like an adult around an even younger child. The incongruity is we expect the young child to still act immaturely around the small child but does not. The resolution is that the young child is playing make-believe or somehow trying to impress the younger child.
The second type of incongruity is through wordplay. Prime examples are puns. For example, George Carlin said, “Atheism is a non-prophet institution.” The incongruity is found in the meaning of non-prophet and nonprofit. Atheism is known as the lack of belief or denial of a higher being/God/religion. So, non-prophet relates to the meaning of atheism. However, non-prophet also sounds a lot like nonprofit. In the pun, atheism is called an institution. Based off how prophet and profit sound the same, atheism could also be considered a nonprofit institution. It is, in the pun, both an institution that does not believe in God and an institution whose primary goal is not to make money. Unlike the superiority theory, the incongruity-resolution theory makes it explicit that these examples of humor are all in a safe environment or
This is a perfect example that displays how certain jokes can miss us if you do not understand the context behind it. The humor in jokes can depend on the environment you are in, the people you are with, and your own mood and I feel like this especially pertains to me. For example, if someone is making a racist joke that is inappropriate in the setting you are in, then the humor that was supposed to be with it can be decreased due to the surroundings. In addition, if I am in a miserable mood and do not want to be joked around with, nothing will seem humorous to me, but will instead frustrate me
Norman Cousins said, “Laughter is a powerful way to tap positive emotions" (Moss 1). Humor is studied by many researchers in sociology, psychology, art, literature, and medicine. When people wonder whether humor aids in areas other than health, a treasure trove of possible benefits to the learning or educational community is opened up. Humor can be used as a tool to promote learning.Research speaks to the many benefits of humor in healing, to its benefits in the classroom or boardroom, from reducing stress of students or employees, to boosting self-esteem and feelings of camaraderie. Additionally, studies show that those who use humor to convey a message are often more favorably perceived. Humor helps deliver the presenter's message to
“Humour is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement.” The term Humour has been derived from the Greek language, which teaches that humour is the balance of fluids in the human body. Humour is savoured by different taste-buds like: Anecdotal, Blue, Dark/Gallows/Morbid, Epigrammatic, Hyperbolic, Ironic, Satirical, Satirical, Situational and Slapstick. Franz Kafka, the author of the outright existential classic ‘The Metamorphosis’ uses depressing humour to deal with the bitter deathly truths of life.
Modern society allows humorists to touch upon offensive topics without receiving much criticism. As Alain de Botton claimed in his 2004 book, Status Anxiety, humorists’ role is not merely to entertain but “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” De Botton’s argument proves legitimate. Many humorists, such as cartoonists and television hosts, decide to use their humor as a tool to prove an idea or express a belief that cannot be voiced candidly in public.
“Theories of humor often suggest that humor requires a perceived violation, or something that disrupts people’s sense of how the world ought to be” (McGraw and Warren 2010).
In the BBC article “How comedy makes us better people” Mary O’Hara claims comedy holds a very relevant place in not only British politics and culture, but in the entire world because it can be used to comprehend and come to terms with confusing events or tragedies, challenge the authority of our governments, and destroy bigoted states of mind. Humor continues to mystify the people who study it to this day. Why does humor play a major part in our everyday lives? What is the significance of it? O’Hara interviews experts from many different fields discussing comedy and its impact on the emotions, politics, and differing points of view. For instance, the tragedy of 9/11 had many jokes following its events because people around the world were trying to grasp why such a terrible thing
Humor’s foundations are made up of seeds of truth, from which comedy and laughter can grow from. Within these seeds different types of issues are found that cast a wide array of topics in which are discussed or given question to by humorists. As the evolution of humor continues to grow it can be seen that it will continue down a darker road, as history has
Humor is viewed by some people as an important part of life. Most people enjoy amusement, and some turn to humorists as a source for that amusement. Some further view humorists as holding an important position in society because society allows humorists to say things that others can and will not say. Due to their unique position in society, humorists serve a role that is certainly unique and can be important, but not vital. Furthermore, humor can very well have a dangerous side, whether intentional or unintentional, so humorists should try to be careful with their powerful position.
Laughter can be an instinctive expression of lively amusement although we don’t usually realise the offence of the joke we are laughing at. Tamara discusses modern satire and its position in humanity.
First of all, an author must define and identify their audience in regard to their jokes. The essay, "Made You Laugh" by Marc Tyler Nobleman explains in thorough detail the analogy and concept of humor itself. For example, the article states, "Young children prefer slapstick, or silly physical humor" while adults enjoy satirical
Comedy is an integral part of our daily lives and routines. It can be as simple as telling a joke to our friends to as complicated as a political cartoon depicting a satirical image of a president committing a crime. However, according to author Alain de Botton, comedy is a conduit that is used to express ideas that society is not generally willing to propound in public. It is clear that the role of humorists is not only to humor an audience, but also to provide a channel for the expression of ideas that are not necessarily ones that we would say to the public, making their role crucial to the functionality of society.
The purpose of humor is to create happiness and relief. We use humor to talk about uncomfortable situations or topics, some of us use it for self deprecation. While satire reveals social flaws, things that need to be addressed, and serious problems within our society, humor just relieves pain or sadness in the form of laughter. Because there are so many different kinds of humor there are so many different ways it can be included in everyday things. Many different people, movies, t.v. shows, books, and other writings use humor.
Because of the power of freedom of speech and technology, today’s society is more brutal at humiliating and ridiculing people with unpopular ideas. By having a more accessibility to technology, people have numerous ways to present their opinions. Unfortunately, most people use this freedom to demoralize ideas that has been sentenced as taboo by society’s standard. Nevertheless, humorists cleverly devise a way to portray their message without offending someone by provoking one’s laughter. Through laughter humorists are able to bypass societies’ fangs which, without a doubt, made humorists essential for our callous society to improve by introducing taboo subjects without conflict and using humor to be more interesting and influential and converting
Cognitive psychology explains what makes things funny via schemes by demonstrating that once there is a shift in schemas the brain may respond in the emotion known as mirth with laughter or smiling following soon after. In a cognitive psychological dynamic Martin states; “The simultaneous activation of multiple schemas to try to make sense of a joke enables both the joke teller and the listener to engage in playful cognitive synergies” (Martin 109). Martin also goes on to state that the assumption that the joke will create mirth is the reason why humor is used.
Unlike the superiority theory which aims at social reform through the emotional side of humour, incongruity theory aims at social reform through the cognitive side. The cognitive juxtaposition of contrary interests and attitudes is the key to comedy in Bernard Shaw. The slum dwellers and landlords in Widower’s House, romantic and realistic attitudes to war in Arms and the Man, external polish and internal instincts in Pygmalion provide comic juxtaposition and create humour with satire. This approach was taken by James Beattie, Immanuel Kant, Soren Kierkegaard, Arthur Schopenhauer, and many later philosophers and psychologists. It is now the dominant theory of humor in philosophy and psychology. As Robert Latta and others have pointed out, the words “incongruous”and “incongruity” are used sloppily in many versions of the theory. The dictionary says that incongruous things are “characterized by a lack of harmony, consistency, or compatibility with one another.” Congruere in Latin means “to come together, to agree.” In geometry, congruent triangles have the same shape and size; one fits exactly over the other (104). Paul McGhee’s uses the term incongruity “interchangeably with absurdity, ridiculousness, and the ludicrous.” McGhee offers a second definition of incongruity: “something unexpected, out of context, inappropriate, unreasonable, illogical, exaggerated, and so forth.”(10). The core concept in incongruity theories is based on the fact that human experience works with learned patterns. Most of the time, most experiences of most people follow such mental patterns. The future turns out like the past. But sometimes we perceive or imagine a thing whose parts or features violate our mental