4 ms·
Society of the Mind has a section on humor (27.6) that poses a theory of humor (see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor https://en.wikipedia.or
by shagie 2y ago
Society of the Mind has a section on humor (27.6) that poses a theory of humor (see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_of_humor ) and jokes that I find somewhat persuasive.
One of the ways that we learn is "do X -> reward" and "don't do X -> no reward". But this is only training us one way - a positive way - about what is desirable.
How do you learn what is not desirable. "Don't touch the oven when its on" is something that you learn through "do Y -> punishment" ... but is there a "don't do Y -> reward" path that can be found? Is there a way to positively train the "don't do Y" paths?
A mother says to her son "don't forget to sweep the corners." The son replies "don't worry, I swept everything into the corner."
You are rewarded for laughing at that joke. Why? Because it is something that you shouldn't do. In this joke, we have expressed an undesirable state to be able to learn from in a rewarding way rather than a punishing way.
And somewhere, long ago, I recall a web page that had a short summary of each theory of humor and a joke that was not funny according to that theory. I doubt there will ever be a Grand Unified Theory of Humor.
- zdragnar 2y agoAre there theories of humor that don't boil down to "setup expectation juxtaposed with punchline reality"? If there was ever a grand unified theory of humor, that would be my guess.
- loa_in_ 2y agoTo avoid accidentally stepping into qualia territory, please define "punchline".
- zdragnar 2y agoTypically the line that reveals the juxtaposition itself, which is typically also the last line, or the last portion in the case of a one-liner. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_line https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_line Has a nice round up, though the section on the etymology of the term is a little disappointing.
- shagie 2y agoThis would likely fall under the Incongruity Theory of humor where the mismatch of expectation and actual result with the punchline. There's a song that I find rather funny. This is to be sung to the tune of M*A*S*H's theme. Through the upturned glass I see a modified reality-- which proves pure reason kant critique that beer reveals das ding an sich-- (das ding an sich is Thing-in-itself which is the philosophical statement that things are what they are independent of observations). Consider this video https://youtu.be/rUibuIDNANg https://youtu.be/rUibuIDNANg - is it funny? If so, why? Would "laughing at the misfortune of others" be a better explanation than "setup of expectations and punchline?" Or consider some of the many PBF Comics. Consider https://pbfcomics.com/comics/nude-beach/ https://pbfcomics.com/comics/nude-beach/ (NSFWish - there are nipples). This falls more into the "sneaking past the censors of taboo" classification. https://pbfcomics.com/comics/battleship/ https://pbfcomics.com/comics/battleship/ (this one is safe for work) also doesn't fall into the "setup expectation" since, what is the expectation of a rat and a bat playing battleship? If it is "the first frame is funny because of incongruity - then why is the third frame funny?" Would https://pbfcomics.com/comics/sir-leopold/ https://pbfcomics.com/comics/sir-leopold/ be better described with relief theory? I suspect that a selection of PBF comics would be an excellent test of "pick which theory of humor best describes {comic} and why" for a philosophy class. Is it relief? misfortune of others? benign violation?
- ChainOfFools 2y agoC.S. Lewis condensed this even further, as the "sudden perception of incongruity."