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Leave it to philosophers to steal all the fun out of comedy. But yes, there is such a thing as the Superiority Theory of Humor. Academics, well known masters of all things funny (Just think back to any member of the Physics Department at university...Hilarious! Everyone single one of them!) have parsed and reduced Humor (with a capital 'H') into the Incongruity theory, the Relief theory, and Superiority theory of Humor.

Incongruity theory covers most of what we generally consider funny. As one egghead put it, 'taking amusement in perceived cognitive dissonance' (John Morreall; look him up when the Ambien is low), or to put it simply... delighting in the absurd.

Example: George W. Bush will be remembered as one of the greatest thinkers of our time.
We laugh because it is a statement incongruent with our present reality.

The Relief Theory, favored by the Freudian set, attempts to describe Humor as a tension-release mechanism... laughter is therapy.

Example: George W. Bush will be remembered as one of the greatest thinkers of our time... I'll see you in 2 weeks and that'll be $200 please.
We laugh, because if we don't we would have a nervous breakdown.

The Superiority Theory of Humor posits that all funny derives ultimately from feelings of superiority... the malicious pleasure in the ridiculous. The Superiority theorist asserts that when we laugh, we are laughing 'at' some failure, defect, deformity, misfortune, or accident of others. I know, doesn't seem all that hilarious to me either, but here's an example:

Dick Cheney shoots his friend, a 78 year old lawyer, in the face during a quail hunt.
We laugh because we feel that we are better than someone who assaults the elderly with loaded weapons, while hunting for small, flightless, tame birds. (We also laugh because we know Dick Cheney doesn't have 'friends' so much as he has devoted minions, but that delves again into the absurd. I digress...)

While, I don't think the Superiority Theory encompasses all or even the half of what I personally consider funny, you can readily observe the impact of this type of humor throughout our pop culture. If you've ever watched Jerry Springer, the MTV show 'Jackass', or just about any reality show, you can be certain to gain a laugh or two and think, if not explicitly state, "These people are idiots!".

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