Three classical theories of humor dominate philosophical and psychological discussions. In 2004, a nobel prize was awarded for the discovery that the olfactory system recognizes smells by recognizing a combinatorial code in the firing combinations of its smell receptors. In order to ensure broad coverage of the rel evant literature, i will use the term sense of humor in the widest sense, as a sort of catchall term to refer to habitual. The best jokes, riddles, tongue twisters, knockknock jokes, and.
In the initial theory, raskin 1985 proposed an exclusively semantic theory where he stated that humor was based on the opposition of two different semantic scripts. Superiority theory, the relief theory, and the incongruity theory. Humor theories the evolution theories as proposed by charles darwin, and by the i. In the literature on humor and laughter it is customary to distinguish between three classical theories.
When we experience humor, we focus mostly on positive affects, though, apparently in a paradoxical manner, laugh. Literature is its own field, and the workings of humor in literature needs its own article. Linguistic theories of humor approaches to semiotics salvatore attardo on free shipping on qualifying offers. The semantic foundations of cognitive theories of humor the semantic foundations of cognitive theories of humor this article argues for a parallelism between the foundations ofthe general theory of verbal humor and the incongruityresolution models.
This article is just for the theories of humor, not theories on the analysis of literature. So this english professor comes into class and starts talking about the textual organization of jokes, the taxonomy of puns, the relations between the linguistic form and the content of humorous texts, and other past. Discover the best theories of humor in best sellers. Sociological approaches to the study of humor springerlink. Humor theories because of the multilayered nature of humor, no single humor theory has been. Therefore, the goal of finding a precise scientific formula for funny remains elusive.
As is widely known, theories of humour are traditionally divided in three branches. Linguistic theories of humour attardo pdf attardo, salvatore. The journal publishes original contributions in areas such as interdisciplinary humor research, humor theory, and humor. Several major theories claim to comprehensively explain how humor originates. A fourth type of theory, which takes the central feature of humor to be ambivalence, a mingling of. Both words were medical terms referring temperament or disposition. Several major theories claim to comprehensively explain how humor originates in the minds of those experiencing it. For centuries politicians, citizens, and elites have marveled at and even feared its powerfuland magicalinfluence on public opinion. Three theories of humor cre ation emerge in humor research. The semantic foundations of cognitive theories of humor. Little audrey is involved in some terrible catastrophe but always finds some humor in every situation.
By reflecting on various approaches to the study of political humors content, audience, and impact, this chapter offers scholars. This theory accounts for the differences between intentional and unintentional humor while creating a structure for the identification of humorous utterances. While these theories focus on the specific role that humor plays for people in situations such as dealing with misfortune, making sense of rule violations, and bonding with others, we propose that underlying each of these theories are the. The theory was sketched in lord shaftesburys 1709 essay an essay on the freedom of wit and humor, the first publication in which humor is used in its modern sense of funniness. Just as one cannot tickle oneself, so, too, one can hardly tell oneself a joke or play a prank on oneself. Humor theories free download as powerpoint presentation. In addition, some linguistic theories based on humor, such as general theory of verbal humor 7 and ontological semantic theory of humor 170, are also available. The capacity to express or perceive whats funny, humor, is both a source of entertainment and a means of coping with difficult or awkward situations and stressful events. Including analysis of literature here would cause the article to become bloated. Humor theories jokes humour free 30day trial scribd. There are many theories of humor which attempt to explain what humor is, what social functions it serves, and what would be considered humorous. Wit and humor psychological aspects, wit and humor therapeutic use publisher burlington, ma. Scientists at the time knew that nerves connect the brain with the sense organs and muscles, but they thought that nerves carried animal spiritsgases and liquids such as air and blood. So this english professor comes into class and starts talking about the textual organization o.
A jocular event typically requires a minimum of two persons to succeedor, for that matter, to fail. This research investigates the many definitions of humor, the philosophy and production of humor, why laughter occurs, humor theories, elements of what makes something funny, and where humor lives in dance. Pdf the wellknown theories are the incongruity theory, the relief theory, and the superiority theory and i only discuss the first two theories. Among the prevailing types of theories that attempt to account for the existence of humor, there are psychological theories, the vast majority of which consider humor to be very healthy behavior. The theory was that there were four body fluids referred to as humors and these humors were associated with mood. Imagine the existence of such brain regions with the ability to learn, remember, recognize, and transmit information about specific functions. The humorisgoodforyou theories as proposed by norman cousins, et.
The word humor actually comes from two words, the latin word umor and the in medieval word humor, meaning fluid. Theories of humor project gutenberg selfpublishing. David hector monro 19112001 pdf, professor of philosophy at monash. The definition and theories of humor are delineated in order to provide understanding of the use of the word humor throughout the document. The incongruity phase is found to correspond to the script opposition knowledge resource and the resolution phase is argued to be identical to the. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. As both an art form and a mode of persuasive discourse, the use of political humor dates back to ancient greece and rome. Reveals how standard theories of humor fail to explain its true nature and actually support traditional prejudices against humor as being antisocial. Humor theories and the physiological benefits of laughter. Philosophy of humor stanford encyclopedia of philosophy.
The recurring themes within the articles show that humor has a positive effect on the audiences. The main theories of humor psychoanalytic, superiority, arousal, incongruity and reversal theories, but also cultural and. A theory of humor does the brain contain separate functional regions. The general theory of verbal humor gtvh was born in 1991, when attardo and raskin carried out a joint based semantic theory of humor attardo 2008. Humor, the official publication of the international society for humor studies ishs, was established over 25 years ago as an international interdisciplinary forum for the publication of highquality research papers on humor as an important and universal human faculty. This dissertation offers a theory of the strategic use of rhetorical humor in political discourse. Monros theories of humor michigan state university. Questions for a theory of humor wiley online library. The semantic foundations of cognitive theories of humor in. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. This book begins by defining humor and presenting theories of humor. A comprehensive philosophy of humor develops an inclusive theory that integrates psychological, aesthetic, and ethical issues relating to humor. Three traditional theories of laughter and humor are examined, along with the theory that humor evolved from mockaggressive play in apes. Ian here the following is a lesson plan for a day spent discussing henri bergsons theory of humor in my course comedy and the moving image.
Pdf humor theories and the physiological benefits of. Pdf linguistic theories of humor wladyslaw chlopicki. Theories of humor in the wider sense are attempts to solve this problem. One of the oldest andmost developed theories of humor adopted by kant, refined by schopenhauer is, roughly,that humor happens when there is an incongruity between what we expect and. The superiority theories as proposed by aristotle, plato, thomas hobbes, henri bergson, and charles gruner the incongruity theories as proposed by immanuel kant, arthur. Offers an enlightening and accessible foray into the serious business of humor. Humor theory little audrey jokes emerged 1930s basic format. In cartoons, meaning and humor are produced either via two semiotic modes, the verbal and the visual, or solely via the visual mode. Humour and linguistic theories is a conditional name for the theories i aim to introduce here.
Elsevier academic press collection americana digitizing sponsor internet archive contributor. The second section will explore a number of topics which could be related to the evolution of humor 1 animal models, 2 genetics, 3 childrens humor, 4. Most humor and laughter imply a social relationship, a connection between self and other. There are many theories of humor which attempt to explain what humor is, what social functions. The superiority theory plato, aristotle, hobbes, the relief theory spencer, freud and the incongruity theory cicero, kant, schopenhauer, kierkegaard. The first third or so of this course was spent discussing some major philosophical theories of humor hobbes, kant, bergson and. There are 3 main theories used to explain the functions of humor. Most of the humour theories ever proposed are actually mixed theories, and many contemporary researchers believe that humour in its totality is too huge and multiform a phenomenon to be incorporated into a single integrated theory. Humor as a doubleedged sword oxford academic journals.
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