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The superiority theory and its effect on humor

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.
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The superiority theory and its effect on humor

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