DOCSLIB.ORG

What Makes Us Laugh

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
What Makes Us Laugh COMMENT BOOKS & ARTS humorous. The coun- tering of the belief that ‘the journal Nature S. HARRIS is never printed on pressed haddock’ should not merely surprise you, but seem funny. However, dan- ger trumps humour: it would not be amus- Inside Jokes: ing, for example, if the Using Humor to Reverse-Engineer pressed haddock were the Mind radioactive. MATTHEW M. HURLEY, Humour, the authors DANIEL C. DENNETT suggest, is an element AND REGINALD B. in the cognitive ‘just- ADAMS JR in-time spreading MIT Press: 2011. 384 pp. $29.95, £22.95 activation’ system, by which our brains fit the best overall meaning to the collection of mental scripts or frames it has at its disposal. For example, you may currently be following a ‘reading the journal Nature’ script; perhaps also a ‘sitting at my desk’ script, and maybe a ‘trying not to forget to stop at the grocery store on the way home’ script. The brain is constantly mediating among these frames, charting our course through a fast- moving, life-threatening world. Our ability to fashion ‘just in time’ mean- ing from this jumble is far from perfect. We are not computers but flesh-and-blood, jerry-built synthesizers of meaning con- structed from the impressions provided by our sense organs, memories and emotions. Humour happens when this operating sys- tem detects an error that other parts had overlooked. The brain’s dopaminergic pleas- NEUROSCIENCE ure system rewards that survival-benefiting discovery with a jolt of mirth. The authors explain how their ideas build on previous theories of how humour emerges. What makes us laugh Notably, that it comes from the joke-teller’s position of superiority, as proposed by Aristo- Humour is the brain’s reward for discovering tle and Thomas Hobbes; when an incongruity unexpected errors, says Appletree Rodden. is resolved, as suggested by Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer and V. S. Ramachan- dran; on release from internal censors, fol- hotons have mass? I didn’t even know detection of humour” — is a valuable, if not a lowing Sigmund Freud; and from some kinds they were Catholic. full, explanation. A mix of lightness and of surprise, as hypothesized by psychologist Why do some of us find that funny? seriousness, the book also contains a great Jerry M. Suls. It can also be inspired by shifting PInside Jokes surveys the scientific basis of collection of jokes: from awful groaners to our frame of reference, according to Marvin humour and proposes a new theory. It pre- choice quips. Minsky, Victor Raskin and Salvatore Attardo. sents a brief history of the concept’s develop- The authors propose that humour is a The authors sometimes labour to bend ment from the ancient Greeks to the present, cognitive event, in which an unconscious the phenomena of humour and laughter to discusses the possible origin of laughter from assumption is discov- fit their theory. And their attempt to explain a Darwinian perspective and describes what ered to have been a every reason why humans laugh, smile or is known about jocularity in the brain. “Countering mistake. For exam- experience low-grade mirth is not entirely Co-authored with philosopher Daniel the belief that ple, if on reading this satisfying. To their credit, the authors realize Dennett and psychologist Reginald Adams, ‘the journal magazine you sud- this, and rightly consider their book a valu- the book grew out of the dissertation of Nature is denly become aware able contribution. ■ neuro­scientist Matthew Hurley, then at Tufts never printed that the pages are not University in Medford, Massachusetts. The on pressed made of paper but Appletree Rodden is a biochemist, physician authors’ account of why humour and laugh- haddock’ of pressed haddock, and cognitive scientist at the Christian ter exist independently, and how they relate should seem then, they argue, that Hospital of Quakenbrueck, Germany. — such that laughter sometimes “expresses the funny.” should strike you as e-mail: [email protected] 450 | NATURE | VOL 473 | 26 MAY 2011 © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Humour in Nietzsche's Style
    Received: 15 May 2020 Accepted: 25 July 2020 DOI: 10.1111/ejop.12585 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Humour in Nietzsche's style Charles Boddicker University of Southampton, Southampton, UK Abstract Correspondence Nietzsche's writing style is designed to elicit affective Charles Boddicker, University of responses in his readers. Humour is one of the most common Southampton, Avenue Campus, Highfield Road, Southampton SO17 1BF, UK. means by which he attempts to engage his readers' affects. In Email: [email protected] this article, I explain how and why Nietzsche uses humour to achieve his philosophical ends. The article has three parts. In part 1, I reject interpretations of Nietzsche's humour on which he engages in self-parody in order to mitigate the charge of decadence or dogmatism by undermining his own philosophi- cal authority. In part 2, I look at how Nietzsche uses humour and laughter as a critical tool in his polemic against traditional morality. I argue that one important way in which Nietzsche uses humour is as a vehicle for enhancing the effectiveness of his ad hominem arguments. In part 3, I show how Nietzsche exploits humour's social dimension in order to find and culti- vate what he sees as the right kinds of readers for his works. Nietzsche is a unique figure in Western philosophy for the importance he places on laughter and humour. He is also unique for his affectively charged style, a style frequently designed to make the reader laugh. In this article, I am pri- marily concerned with the way in which Nietzsche uses humour, but I will inevitably discuss some of his more theo- retical remarks on the topic, as these cannot be neatly separated.
    [Show full text]
  • Humour and Caricature Teachers Notes Humour and Caricature
    Humour and Caricature Teachers Notes Humour and Caricature “We all love a good political cartoon. Whether we agree with the underlying sentiment or not, the biting wit and the sharp insight of a well-crafted caricature and its punch line are always deeply satisfying.” Peter Greste, Australian Journalist, Behind the Lines 2015 Foreward POINTS FOR DISCUSSION: Consider the meaning of the phrases “biting wit”, “sharp insight”, “well-crafted caricature”. Look up definitions if required. Do you agree with Peter Greste that people find political cartoons “deeply satisfying” even if they don’t agree with the cartoons underlying sentiment? Why/why not? 2 Humour and Caricature What’s so funny? Humour is an important part of most political cartoons. It’s a very effective way for The joke cartoonists to communicate their message to their audience can be simple or — and thereby help shape public opinion. multi-layered and complex. POINTS FOR DISCUSSION: “By distilling political arguments and criticisms into Do a quick exercise with your classmates — share a couple clear, easily digestible (and at times grossly caricatured) of jokes. Does everyone understand them? Why/why not? statements, they have oiled our political debate and What does this tell us about humour? helped shape public opinion”. Peter Greste, Australian Journalist, Behind the Lines foreward, http://behindthelines.moadoph.gov.au/2015/foreword. Why do you believe it’s important for cartoonists to make their cartoons easy to understand? What are some limitations readers could encounter which may hinder their understanding of the overall message? 3 Humour and Caricature Types of humour Cartoonists use different kinds of humour to communicate their message — the most common are irony, satire and sarcasm.
    [Show full text]
  • Humour and the Young Child
    RESEARCH 4 19/2006/E Catherine Lyon Humour and the young child A review of the research literature What exactly is a sense of humour? Finally, does having a sense of hu- vision of a socially acceptable means On the basis of relevant research mour matter? Do children with a of expressing hostility and softening results on children and adults, ma- sense of humour have more friends, of an assertive/dominating style of ny favourable aspects of humour do better in school, or enjoy better interaction (McGhee, 1988). He states are presented. We learn that hu- emotional and physical health or not? rather unequivocally, “It is concluded mour is a skill that can be trained, Is a sense of humour inborn or some- that development of heightened early and this is where the use of media thing we can encourage? If we can humor helps to optimize children’s in the development of children’s teach a sense of humour, how do we social development.” humour comes into play. do that? Humour is frequently used to dispel Unlike other psychological constructs anxiety; by secondary reinforcement, (e. g., intelligence or extraversion) humour becomes a learned motive to there is no standard conception of experience mastery in the face of 1. What the research tells us sense of humour upon which re- anxiety – the “whistling in the dark” searchers generally agree (Martin, phenomenon. In studies investigating about humour and its 1998). With the caveat that this field stress and a sense of humour, e. g. development is currently made up of multiple ap- Martin and Lefcourt (1983 – cit.
    [Show full text]
  • DOCTORAL THESIS Stories of Comedy and Tragedy in Therapy
    DOCTORAL THESIS Stories of comedy and tragedy in therapy psychological therapists' experiences of humour in sessions with clients diagnosed with a terminal illness Chauhan, Gauri Award date: 2016 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 03. Oct. 2021 STORIES OF COMEDY AND TRAGEDY IN THERAPY: PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPISTS’ EXPERIENCES OF HUMOUR IN SESSIONS WITH CLIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH A TERMINAL ILLNESS by Gauri Chauhan BSc A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PsychD Department of Psychology Roehampton University 2015 Abstract This research explores psychological therapists’ experiences of humour in sessions with clients diagnosed with a terminal illness. In considering the extensive research uncovered involving humour and death, comparatively
    [Show full text]
  • Humour and Fate in Tom Stoppard's Play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
    Pamukkale Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi Sayı 25/1,2016, Sayfa 74-86 HUMOUR AND FATE IN TOM STOPPARD’S PLAY ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD Ayça ÜLKER ERKAN∗ Abstract The purpose of this study is to discuss physical humour arising from the characters’ quest for identity and to depict how the themes of death/ chance/ fate/ reality/ illusion function in the existentialist world of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Humour plays a significant role in the analysis of this tragicomedy. The theatre of the Absurd expresses the senselessness of the human condition, abandons the use of rational devices, reflects man’s tragic sense of loss, and registers the ultimate realities of the human condition, such as the problems of life and death. Thus the audience is confronted with a picture of disintegration. This dissolved reality is discharged through ‘liberating’ laughter which depicts the absurdity of the universe. Stoppard uses verbal wit, humour and farce to turn the most serious subjects into comedy. Humour is created by Guildenstern’s little monologues that touch on the profound but founder on the absurd. The play has varieties of irony, innuendo, confusion, odd events, and straight-up jokes. Stoppard’s use of the ‘play in play’ technique reveals the ultimate fate of the tragicomic characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. They confront the mirror image of their future deaths in the metadramatic spectacle performed by the Players. As such, the term “Stoppardian” springs out of his use of style: wit and comedy while addressing philosophical concepts and ideas. Key Words: The theatre of the Absurd, Humour, Identity confusion, Fate, The theme of death, Wit and comedy.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring Canarian Humour in the First Locally Produced Sitcom in RTVC
    http://dx.doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2013.1.4.gonzalezcruz European Journal of Humour Research 1(4) 35 -57 www.europeanjournalofhumour.org Exploring Canarian humour in the first locally produced sitcom in RTVC Mª Isabel González Cruz Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Abstract Between December 2011 and May 2012, the public television channel (RTVC) in the Canary Islands (Spain) aired, in prime time, the first locally produced situation comedy. Titled La Revoltosa (henceforth LR), it was the most ambitious production in the channel’s more than 14 years of existence. This series was said to display a humorous interpretation of Canarian society. Indeed, according to the executive producer, the characters reflected ordinary Canarian families. One of the attractions of the series was the inclusion of popular Canarian comedian Manolo Vieira as the main protagonist. In this paper, I briefly outline the strategies typically used by this important figure of Canarian humour before I discuss two episodes of LR to explore the resources they employ to provoke humour. Particularly, I study the role played by language, and analyse how characters and situations are portrayed, thus examining universal humour in contrast to regional or ethnic humour. This comparison between the humour strategies used by Manolo Vieira and the ones employed in LR will enable us to determine to what extent this sitcom favours the Canarian (ethnic) humour traditionally represented by Vieira or rather resorts to more general (universal) humour strategies and stereotypes. Keywords: Canarian humour; sitcoms; linguistic humour; stereotypes; Canarian Spanish. 1. Introduction It is widely recognised that humour has a high profile in our contemporary society.
    [Show full text]
  • Humor As Cognitive Play
    Abstracts 393 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 JOHN MORREALL 27 28 Humor as Cognitive Play 29 30 31 This article assesses three traditional theories of laughter and humor: the Superi- 32 ority Theory, the Relief Theory, and the Incongruity Theory. Then, taking insights 33 from those theories, it presents a new theory in which humor is play with cognitive 34 shifts. 35 The oldest account of what we now call humor is the Superiority Theory. For 36 Plato and Aristotle laughter is an emotion involving scorn for people thought of as 37 inferior. Plato also objects that laughter involves a loss of self-control that can lead to 38 violence. And so in the ideal state described in his Republic and Laws, Plato puts 39 tight restrictions on the performance of comedy. 40 This negative assessment of laughter, humor, and comedy influenced early 41 Christian thinkers, who derived from the Bible a similar understanding of laughter 42 as hostile. The classic statement of the Superiority Theory is that of Thomas 394 Abstracts 1 Hobbes, who describes laughter as an expression of »sudden glory«. Henri Bergson’s 2 account of laughter in Le Rire incorporates a version of the Superiority Theory. 3 For any version of the Superiority Theory to be correct, two things must be true 4 when we laugh: we must compare ourselves with someone else or with our former 5 selves, and in that comparison we must judge our current selves superior.
    [Show full text]
  • Humour As a New Teaching Perspective for All
    Humour as a new teaching perspective for all Ana Maria Oliveira CI&DETS Research Center – Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Portugal Teresa Adão Faculdade de Letras, Oporto University, Portugal Do the teachers understand the language of humour? • The importance of humour has been increasing the interest in its potential applications in a variety of professional domains. • This is the case of education which was traditionally seen as a serious undertaking where there was no place for humour. • However it is now understood that it is possible and very advantageous to make learning fun. • In the classroom, teachers should assume the role of learning mediators. • so it seems pertinent to assess teachers’ ability to process humour information through humorous texts. Cognitive aspects of humour • Humour, perception and attitudes • Differences of gender • Humour and personality • Development psychology and humour • Humour sense (assessment) • Information processing in humour • Conceptual interpretation • Mental lexicon • Memory • Humour appreciation and brain • Cognitive mechanisms of humour • Cognitive dimension of humour discursive mechanisms • Mental spaces and sense construction theory (Fauconnier & Turner, 2002). General structure of humorous texts • Accepting the general research lines of Fauconnier (2002) and more recently of Ritchie (2006), every humorous text follows a mechanism in which there is an initial part, called the set-up, appearing to have one interpretation, and a final part, the punchline, which provokes a mental shifting and forces the reader or the hearer to perceive another point of view. • This change of interpretation does not mean the former was incorrect, but it is needed because it is responsible for the incongruity resolution without which the humour language comprehension does not happen and consequently there is no humour appreciation.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy in Review/Comptes Rendus Philosophiques Academic
    Philosophy in Review/Comptes rendus philosophiques Editor / Francophone associate editor / Directeur directeur adjoint francophone David Kahane Alain Voizard Philosophy in Review Departement de philosophie Department of Philosophy Universite du Quebec a Montreal 4-115 Humanities Centre C.P. 8888, Succursale Centre-Ville University of Alberta Montreal, QC Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E5 Canada H3C 3P8 Tel: 780-492-8549 Fax: 780-492-9160 Courriel: [email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/pir Anglophone associate editors / directeurs adjoints anglophones Robert Bw·ch Continental philosophy, history ofphilosophy Glenn Griener Ethics, bioethics Cressida Heyes Feminism DavidKahane Political, social, and legal philosophy Bernard Linsky Logic and philosophy of language Jeffry Pelletier Cognitive science, philosophy of mind Alex Rueger Epistemology, philosophy of science Martin Tweedale Ancient and medieval philosophy, metaphysics Jennifer Welchman Ethics, bioethics, history of philosophy As a rule, P.I.R. publishes only invited reviews. However, we will consider for publication submitted reviews of new books in philosophy and related areas. Reviews must be a maximum of 1000 words and will be accepted in either French or English. En general, C.R.P. ne publie que Jes comptes rendus qui sont explicitement invitees. Neanmoins, nous prendrions en consideration la publication de comptes rendus soumis, si Jes auteurs traitent de livres philosophiques (ou de livres sur un sujet apparente) qui viennent de paraitre.
    [Show full text]
  • Gallows and Gothic Humor (Includes Disgusting, Grotesque, Insulting, Sick, Subversive, Obscene, Politically Incorrect, Black and Tragicomic Humor
    GALLOWS AND GOTHIC HUMOR (INCLUDES DISGUSTING, GROTESQUE, INSULTING, SICK, SUBVERSIVE, OBSCENE, POLITICALLY INCORRECT, BLACK AND TRAGICOMIC HUMOR: by Don L. F. Nilsen English Department Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85287-0302 ( [email protected] ) Abrahams, Roger. "Ghastly Commands: The Cruel Joke Revisited." Midwest Folklore 11 (1962): 235-246. Aman, Reinhold, ed. The Best of Maledicta. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press Book Publishers, 1987. Aman, Reinhold. "New Improved Dreck! Interlingual Taboo in Personal Names and Language Learning." Maledicta 3 (1979): 145-152. Aman, Reinhold. Maledicta Monitor. Waukesha, WI: Maledicta Press, 1990-1992. Aman, Reinhold, ed. Opus Maledictorum: A Book of Bad Words. New York, NY: Marlowe and Co., 1996. Aman, Reinhold, ed. Talking Dirty: A Bawdy Compendium of Abusive Language, Outrageous Insults, and Wicked Jokes. London, England: Robson Books, 1993; New York, NY: Carroll and Graf Publishers, 1994. Aman, Reinhold. "What -ist Are You? A Guide to Common Prejudices." Maledicta 11 (1990-1995): 105-112. Andersson, Lars, and Peter Trudgill. Bad Language. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell, 1990. Bainy, Moses. "The Nature of Humour and of Tragedy," and "Comedy and Tragedy in Literature." Why Do We Laugh and Cry? West Ryde, Australia: Sunlight Publications, 1993, 37-77, and 122-154. Bargainnier, Earl, ed. Comic Crime. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Press, 1987. Barrick, Mac E. "The Helen Keller Joke Cycle." The Humor Prism in Twentieth-Century America. Ed. Joseph Boskin, Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1997, 195-207. Bier, Jesse. "Sick Humor and the Function of Comedy." Comedy Techniques for Writers and Performers. Ed. Melvin Helitzer. Athens, OH: Lawhead Press, 1984, 49-53.
    [Show full text]
  • When Politics Were Fun: Recovering a History of Humour in U.S. Feminism
    When Politics Were Fun: Recovering a History of Humour in U.S. Feminism Kirsten Leng Abstract: Based on archival research, scholarship from the emerging field of Feminist Humour Studies, and engagements with feminist and poststructuralist theory, in this article I make the case for recovering a history of humour in feminism, with a focus on 20th century US-based feminist practices. I argue that retrieving evidence of feminist humour—whether as political performance (street protests, “zaps”) or cultural artefacts (comics, music, plays, polemical texts)—enables scholars to re-imagine feminism and its past, and opens up new ways of thinking about both. Using humour as a focal point through which to narrate feminist history allows for a recovery of neglected and marginalized voices from the feminist past. In so doing, humour facilitates a redrawing of the conceptual map that informs prevailing narratives about feminism and its history. Furthermore, engaging humour opens up new lines of inquiry for future researchers, including an investigation of how feminists’ engagements with humour—and the new, subversive realities they engendered—helped shape feminist attitudes, subjectivities, and communities over the course of generations. Keywords: activism; Guerrilla Girls; COYOTE; Flo Kennedy; humour; feminism. omedians are leading the feminist movement,” declared a March 2015 article on the website mic.com. Citing much-lauded examples like Amy Poehler, Jessica Williams, Kristen Schaal and Amy Schumer, the article took stock of “C contemporary female comedians’ growing commitment to broaching issues such as pay equity and reproductive rights in mainstream media, and remarked upon their powerful influence in shaping generational attitudes.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Theory on the Experience and Ethics of Humor
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Dissertations (1934 -) Projects Humor, Power and Culture: A New Theory on the Experience and Ethics of Humor Jennifer Marra Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Marra, Jennifer, "Humor, Power and Culture: A New Theory on the Experience and Ethics of Humor" (2019). Dissertations (1934 -). 1015. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/1015 HUMOR, POWER, AND CULTURE: A NEW THEORY ON THE EXPERIENCE AND ETHICS OF HUMOR by Jennifer Marra A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2019 ABSTRACT HUMOR, POWER, AND CULTURE: A NEW THEORY ON THE EXPERIENCE AND ETHICS OF CULTURE Jennifer Marra Marquette University, 2019 The aim of this dissertation is to offer a new theory of humor that takes seriously both the universality and power of humor in culture. In the first chapter, I summarize historical and contemporary theories, and show how each either 1) fails to give any definition of humor, 2) fails as a theory of humor, and/or 3) underappreciates, dismisses, or does not consider the power of humor in experience. The second chapter explains the failures of prior theories by understanding the problem in terms of Ernst Cassirer’s philosophy of symbolic forms. These forms of culture are perspectives through which we express and understand our world, and each presents its own unique perspectives through which we can understand ourselves and the world.
    [Show full text]