A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the...

[Molly Brogan]

Knock, knock. Who’s there? What is humor? What is funny? Why do we want to laugh? Many researchers believe that the purpose of humor is related to making and strengthening human connections. "Laughter occurs when people are comfortable with one another, when they feel open and free. And the more laughter [there is], the more bonding [occurs] within the group," says cultural anthropologist Mahadev Apte. This feedback "loop" of bonding-laughter-more bonding, combined with the common desire not to be singled out from the group, may be another reason why laughter is often contagious.

Human beings love to laugh, and the average adult laughs 17 times a day. Humans love to laugh so much that there are actually industries built around laughter. Jokes, sitcoms and comedians are all designed to get us laughing, because laughing feels good. For us it seems so natural, but the funny thing is that humans are one of the only species that laughs. Laughter is actually a complex response that involves many of the same skills used in solving problems.

Research has shown health benefits of laughter ranging from strengthening the immune system to reducing food cravings to increasing one's threshold for pain. There's even an emerging therapeutic field known as humor therapy to help people heal more quickly, among other things. Humor also has several important stress relieving benefits.

We know laughter is powerful, because we feel good when we laugh. And we know it is contagious; when a person laughs, everyone else lightens up, too. Even when it feels as if your life has spun into chaos, you can put yourself in another state that connects you with who you are and what you desire to create. No one can take away your consciousness. When you know that, you also know you can change your circumstances. The cloud covering the sun is about to move, as you remember who you are. Laughter is a quick route to remembrance.

What do YOU think?

[Taeguk]

Laughter is definitely therapeutic, and it, along with tears, has always been tied closely to philosophy and religion. In Ancient Greece, Heraclitus with his pessimistic attitude toward human nature and doctrine of "flux and fire" was often called the "weeping philosopher" and Democritus the "laughing philosopher". Oddly enough, in China Laozi's Daodejing espouses similiar themes to Heraclitus' philosophy, yet he has traditionally been depicted as the "laughing master", as opposed to Confucius and the Buddha (although of course after the synthesis of Daoism and Mahayana Buddhism we get Hotei, the fat, jovial "laughing Buddha" of Chan).

I bring this up because it is interesting to note that one's metaphysical convictions can be understood tragically or comically, and whether a philosophy brings laughter or tears is often in the eye of the beholder. Schopenhauer's interpretation of Vedic philosophy and Buddhism was a lot more depressive than his source material, and perhaps because of him and other dour, 19th century Idealist thinkers Germany was once known as "the land without comedy".

Laughter is tied to comedy, but it can also be malicious, as in the German Schadenfreude. Henri Bergson noted that often humor often requires a "temporary anesthesia of the heart", essentially a temporary numbing of empathy. As Mel Brooks put it, "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."

As with any other human phenomena, laugher can be used to unite or divide.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, by the way, Molly---it's been awfully quiet around here lately, but perhaps you can breathe some life into this board. :mellow:

[Molly Brogan]

I hope so, thank you. Thanks too for your thoughtful response. Knowing that humor can unite or divide is very insightful. I think it speaks to the individual "sense" of humor as it reflects who we are in the moment. What strikes us as funny can be very revealing, as is the sound of our laugh itself.

[Flux]

I think that humor is a response that developed in order for us to deal with grim ideas and situations without becoming overly depressed. It seems to me that humor helps us spontaneously transform "negative" situations into positive feelings by making it mean less, or "making light of it." I think this is why humor often centers on things that makes us frightened or nervous. Death, politics, and injury, when dealt with in a jovial manner, lose their sting for us, and are put in perspective.

I think humor's an activity that temporarily de-emphesises the meaning or value of the object of the humor, and I believe that this explains why humor can be both wonderful and terrible. It's wonderful when it helps us relinquish our grasp on things that we take to seriously, such as personal ill's or one's reuptation, and terrible when it leaches value from things that really do mean something. That's the way I see it anyway.

[Patheya]

I think :

I’ve always been far too serious. Age has helped me to loosen up. I laugh more at myself and it helps. Helps to make the issues I’m struggling with (summed up in what they term the human condition) more endurable.
I don’t trust people without a sense of humour! I realized that the other day. I was reading a book titled A species in Denial, and although I agreed with a lot of what was being said, it was all far too serious … and I realized, anyone that can’t see the funny side of the situation makes me feel (regardless if this is the truth or not) that they are to inhuman.. that they are willing to suffer for their ideas… and then.. its all gets a bit too much for me. After all, life is life…

[GantzBall]

For us it seems so natural, but the funny thing is that humans are one of the only species that laughs. Laughter is actually a complex response that involves many of the same skills used in solving problems.
Because of humans unique vocal cords. Humans can laugh at will. Dogs show emotion, but they cannot speak, but that does not mean dogs do not feel happiness or lack intelligence. Animals in zoos play with each other. Hyenas can make a sound like laughter.