There are 4 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #3 by Helium's members.
Superiority humor-It sounds like laughing just because you're better.
Plato and Aristotle talk much about the humor, and the feelings of superiority. Plato argued that "mixture of pleasure and pain that lies in the malice of amusement." we find the weak funny, because we are superior. And the strong funny, because they are no longer superior. Aristole defines jokes as a kind of abuse, an educated insolence.
Thomas Hobbes, to break his theory down into simplicity, said we are happy finding good in us, and infirmity in others. Baudelaire has a variation on this, adding mortal inferiority, saying laughter is satanic
most of these theorists emphasize those aggressive attitudes, thinking they create humor.
Solomen had the theory that was almost the mirror to that, called the inferior theory. He thought we laughed because of inferiority.
Feeling better, worse, we don't care. We know what is funny, and what's funny is funny, and that's why we laugh. For most of us, that is all we need.
Learn more about this author, Liomas Thomas.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:
by Hickman
Leave it to philosophers to steal all the fun out of comedy. But yes, there is such a thing as the Superiority Theory of
IS PSEUDO-SUPERIORITY FUNNY?
One man's humor is another man's bigotry.
The superiority school of humor includes jokes in which
Superiority humor-It sounds like laughing just because you're better.
Plato and Aristotle talk much about the humor, and the
by Tenebris
"The passion of laughter is nothing else than sudden glory arising from some eminency in ourselves, by comparison with the
Add your voice
Know something about The superiority theory and its effect on humor?
We want to hear your view.
Write now!
Featured Partner
The Responsibility Project is the brainchild of Liberty Mutual Insurance. As an insurance company, we like respons...more
hide