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Are 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, th

Are 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 ago
To avoid accidentally stepping into qualia territory, please define "punchline".
- zdragnar 2y ago
  Typically 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 ago
This 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 ago
C.S. Lewis condensed this even further, as the "sudden perception of incongruity."

Are 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 ago

To avoid accidentally stepping into qualia territory, please define "punchline".

zdragnar 2y ago
Typically 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 ago

This 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 ago

C.S. Lewis condensed this even further, as the "sudden perception of incongruity."