Foreword / Robert Mankoff -- No laughing matter : the traditional rejection of humor and -- Traditional theories of humor -- Humor, anarchy, and aggression -- The superiority theory : humor as anti-social -- The incongruity theory : humor as irrational -- The relief theory : humor as a pressure valve -- The minority opinion of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas : humor as playful relaxation -- The relaxation theory of Robert Latta -- Fight or flight or laughter : the psychology of humor -- Humor and disengagement -- Humor as play -- Laughter as a play signal -- From Lucy to I love Lucy : the evolution of humor -- What was first funny? -- The basic pattern in humor : the playful enjoyment of a cognitive shift -- Is expressed in laughter -- The worth of mirth -- That Mona Lisa smile : the aesthetics of humor -- Humor as aesthetic experience -- Humor and other ways of enjoying cognitive shifts : the funny, tragic, grotesque, macabre, horrible, bizarre, and fantastic -- Tragedy vs. comedy : is heavy better than light? -- Enough with the jokes : spontaneous vs. prepared humor -- Laughing at the wrong time : the negative ethics of humor -- Traditional moral objections -- The contemporary ethics of humor -- A more comprehensive approach : the ethics of disengagement -- First harmful effect of disengagement : irresponsibility -- Second harmful effect : blocking compassion -- Third harmful effect : promoting prejudice -- Having a good laugh : the positive ethics of humor -- Intellectual virtues fostered by humor -- Moral virtues fostered by humor -- Comedy and self-transcendence -- Humor during the holocaust -- Homo sapiens and homo ridens : philosophy and comedy -- Was Socrates the first standup comedian? -- Humor and the existentialists -- The laughing Buddha -- The glass is half-empty and half-full : comic wisdom.
Foreword / Robert Mankoff -- No laughing matter : the traditional rejection of humor and -- Traditional theories of humor -- Humor, anarchy, and aggression -- The superiority theory : humor as anti-social -- The incongruity theory : humor as irrational -- The relief theory : humor as a pressure valve -- The minority opinion of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas : humor as playful relaxation -- The relaxation theory of Robert Latta -- Fight or flight or laughter : the psychology of humor -- Humor and disengagement -- Humor as play -- Laughter as a play signal -- From Lucy to I love Lucy : the evolution of humor -- What was first funny? -- The basic pattern in humor : the playful enjoyment of a cognitive shift -- Is expressed in laughter -- The worth of mirth -- That Mona Lisa smile : the aesthetics of humor -- Humor as aesthetic experience -- Humor and other ways of enjoying cognitive shifts : the funny, tragic, grotesque, macabre, horrible, bizarre, and fantastic -- Tragedy vs. comedy : is heavy better than light? -- Enough with the jokes : spontaneous vs. prepared humor -- Laughing at the wrong time : the negative ethics of humor -- Traditional moral objections -- The contemporary ethics of humor -- A more comprehensive approach : the ethics of disengagement -- First harmful effect of disengagement : irresponsibility -- Second harmful effect : blocking compassion -- Third harmful effect : promoting prejudice -- Having a good laugh : the positive ethics of humor -- Intellectual virtues fostered by humor -- Moral virtues fostered by humor -- Comedy and self-transcendence -- Humor during the holocaust -- Homo sapiens and homo ridens : philosophy and comedy -- Was Socrates the first standup comedian? -- Humor and the existentialists -- The laughing Buddha -- The glass is half-empty and half-full : comic wisdom.