Comic relief : a comprehensive philosophy of humor / John Morreall ; foreword by Robert Mankoff.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

'Comic Relief' develops a comprehensive theory that integrates psychological, aesthetic, and ethical issues relating to humour.

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. Eight traditional moral objections ; The shortcomings in the contemporary ethics of humor ; A more comprehensive approach : the ethics of disengagement ; First harmful effect : 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 ; Humor during the Holocaust -- Homo sapiens and homo ridens : philosophy and comedy. Was Socrates the first stand-up comedian? ; Humor and the existentialists ; The laughing Buddha -- The glass is half-empty and half-full : comic wisdom.

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