The gist of this theory is that we find something funny when two conditions are met. A theory of humor humor is an emotion, which identifies, records and sustains a tension releasing event. A fourth type of theory, which takes the central feature of. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Solomons inferiority theory of humor raises a central objection against the superiority theory, namely, that a feeling of superiority is not a necessary condition of humor. This works scope encompasses the humor of children, adults, and even nonhuman primates throughout the ages, from crude jokes and simple slapstick to sophisticated word play and ironic parody and satire.
Increased confidence, reduced stress, and family connection are direct derivatives of the inclusion of real theory of humor in the daily life. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A theory of humor is arrived at through the analysis of more than eighty fine jokes. The material is scholarly, but the presentation of the material is suitable for people unfamiliar with the subjectmaking the psychology of humor suitable for use for advanced undergraduate and graduate level courses on the psychology of humorwhich have not had a textbook source. In this paper, we explore how to generate a punchline given the setup with the relevant knowledge. 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. A relevance theoretic analysis of verbal humor in the big. Humor theory should be a nearby reference for all those who want to succeed. Pdf on may 20, 2017, maria christoff and others published freuds theory of humor. Humor, according to relief theory, is used mainly to.
Discover the best theories of humor in best sellers. Professor leacock is a political economist, and in his less lively moments accustomed to dryness and order. A comprehensive philosophy of humor by morreall and mankoff. The chapters themselves range from cognitive aspects of humor development, through the functions of humor and laughter in social interaction, to the use of humor by comedians and by the mass media.
In this paper, a pragmatic theory, relevance theory will be employed in studying the creation and appreciation of humor. The mastery of discourse by susan purdie, the rhetoric of racist humour. They propose the theory that humor evolved because it strengthens the ability of the brain to find mistakes in active belief structures, that is, to detect mistaken reasoning. But its not an easy read because the authors and the publisher obviously didnt really give a damn. Encouraged by a correspondence with his friend wilhelm fliess, freud went on to write a book entirely devoted to an examination of the comic, humor, and jokes, entitled jokes and their relation to the unconscious. The entropy of nonsense words is linked to their funniness, research finds. 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. If your book is not available digitally, flair your post as needs digitizing. Philosophy of humor stanford encyclopedia of philosophy.
This theory evolved further to include major organs, seasons, elements and primal qualitiesall. Although relevance theory is not specially designed to study humor, it has been proved a very efficient framework to study humor, a special kind of. For instance, the benign violation theory of humor developed by a team of psychologists at the university of colorado boulder explains funny as a series nonthreatening violations of. Online shopping for books on humor theory in the books store. If your book is not available via libgenbookzz, be sure to provide us a full citation, a doi or isbn, and a link to the paywall or, if you cant find one, a link to the book s worldcat record. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Popular humor theory books meet your next favorite book.
It offers an enlightening and accessible foray into the serious business of humor. May 10, 2017 encouraged by a correspondence with his friend wilhelm fliess, freud went on to write a book entirely devoted to an examination of the comic, humor, and jokes, entitled jokes and their relation to the unconscious. It examines the major theoretical perspectives underlying current approaches and it draws together for the fi rst time the main. Performing is a whole nother part that takes a while to get comfortable with. The best jokes, riddles, tongue twisters, knockknock jokes, and. The four humors are the metabolic agents of the four elements in the human body. Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. The best jokes, riddles, tongue twisters, knockknock jokes, and one liners for kids. Laughter and mirth, according to relief theory, result from this release of nervous energy. A theory of humor is arrived at through the analysis of more than. There are many theories of humor which attempt to explain what humor is, what social functions. If your request isnt urgent, please try an interlibrary loan ill instead. The linguistic theory of humor defines the structure of a humor sentence as setup and punchline. Pdf the sociology of humor giselinde kuipers academia.
All or virtually all humorous situations involve the equivalent of a setup which can be considered a type of establishing operation and a punch line or trigger, by which we mean auditory or visual stimuli that supplement an individuals recent history in a specific ways. 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. Jan 16, 2018 now that i also got all the guys attention, heres the answer. This book explains six classic theories of humor, with many examples. Philology of humor course by rthelowkeythinker aka me lol linguistic theories of humor by salvatore attardo. Relief theory maintains that laughter is a homeostatic mechanism by which psychological tension is reduced. It examines the major theoretical perspectives underlying current approaches and it draws together for the fi rst time the main empirical work done over the course of this century. The encyclopedia of humor studies explores the concept of humor in history and modern society in the united states and internationally. A fourth type of theory, which takes the central feature of humor to be ambivalence, a mingling of attraction and repulsion, is of minor importance. Are there any books on theories or anything of humor. A quest to understand what makes things funny the new yorker.
Sigmund freud noticed that humor, like dreams, can be related to unconscious content. This book is concerned with the exploration of the psychology of humor and laughter by the foremost professional researchers in these areas. Yet, on the other hand, all the pathos of his book is directed against. This paper presents a theory of humor, that certain psychological state which tends to produce laughter. Phlegm, or the phlegmatic humor, is present as the clear plasma. In the 1905 book jokes and their relation to the unconscious german.
Monros theories of humor michigan state university. Why do we spend so much of our time passing on amusing anecdotes, making wisecracks, watching the simpsons. The book is the first ever application of modem linguistic theory to the study of humor and it puts forward a formal semantic theory of verbal humor. Heres a book written by three guys one of them prof. The theory states that humor is fully characterized by three conditions, each of which, separately, is necessary for humor to occur, and all of which, jointly, are sufficient for humor to occur.
The oldest known humor theory, known as superiority theory, dates back. His readers have grounds to entertain hopes of a more orderly treatise than he offers us in the present work. A comprehensive philosophy of humor develops an inclusive theory that integrates psychological, aesthetic, and ethical issues relating to humor. A fourth type of theory, which takes the central feature of humor to be ambivalence, a mingling of. Yes, that theres these 2 appraisals that somethings wrong yet okay, and not only is the theory really good at pointing to the things that are funny, it actually does a nice job of explaining when things are not funny, when there will be no laughter, and thats actually a problem with a lot of the prior theorizing is that. But what 3 schopenhauer, a the world as will and idea, quoted from morreall 1987a, 52. The theory of the four humors centers around the belief that the body is made up of four fluids. Encyclopedia of humor studies sage publications inc. Another theory is the incongruity theory, in which the resolution of an incongruence situation presents the humor because of the large gap that is often left unexplained by language. An evolutionary and cognitive account of the addictive mind candy that is humor. Some of these counterexamples might miss their mark if the superiority theory is meant to capture only cases of humorous laughter, but this is surely a mistaken. Ever wondered why we find something funny or why we laugh.
Although various classical theories of humor and laughter may be found, in contemporary academic literature, three theories of humor appear repeatedly. The subject ist one of the most complex problems that is being investigated in psychology, linguistics, evolutionary theory, and neuroscience. The pleasurable effect of the comical could easily be accounted for by the relief from restraint theory or by the superiority theory. Blood, or the sanguine humor, is the red, hemoglobinrich portion. Todays humor research draws on elements of these primary theories and remixes them. Kirk boyle is an assistant professor in the department of english at the university of north carolina asheville, where he teaches courses on rhetoric and composition, american literature and culture, modernity studies, and critical theory. Whether it is slapstick, ironic, aggressive, or self effacing, humor highlights the demolition of a faulty nervous perception. Igor krichtafovitch, a prominent russian scientist and inventor, who spent decades researching and analyzing these questions, reveals the answers in his new book, humor theory, a scientific look behind the simple formula for laughter. Want the latest theory on humor, especially on jokes. One theory of the psychology of humor thats been gaining a lot of traction is called benign violation theory, developed by peter mcgraw. Some things are funnyjokes, puns, sitcoms, charlie chaplin, the far side, malvolio with his yellow garters crossedbut why. The right balance and purity of them is essential to maintaining health. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Humor may thus for example serve to facilitate relief of the tension caused by ones fears.
The subject ist one of the most complex problems that is being investigated in psychology, linguistics. The two major parts of the book deal with perception of and responses to humor, and its uses in society at large. The goal of the theory is to formulate the necessary and sufficient conditions, in purely semantic terms, for a text to be funny. Theories of humor in the wider sense are attempts to solve this problem. The proportions of these fluids dictated the health and disposition or temperament of a person. 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 and current topics in languagebased research into humor. Apr 05, 2016 one theory of the psychology of humor thats been gaining a lot of traction is called benign violation theory, developed by peter mcgraw. The authors humor research lab benign violation theory photos and video dr.
It is now the dominant theory of humor in philosophy and. Peter mcgraw, a marketing and psychology professor at the university of colorado boulder, is an expert in the interdisciplinary fields of emotion and behavioral decision theory. Morreall offers several examples, such as finding a bowling ball in his refrigerator, that could be found funny, but do not clearly involve superiority. Its entertaining because it contains over 200 jokes. Now that i also got all the guys attention, heres the answer. Among current humor researchers, there is no consensus about which of these three theories of humor is most viable. The four humors and the elements they serve are as follows. Veale presents another theory of humor which states that humor is about superiority, and putting people and ideas down. The theory is developed on the basis of communication and cognition. Whether it is slapstick, ironic, aggressive, or self effacing, humor highlights the. The theory of hummingbirds and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle.
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