[This post is based on a YouTube video I made. Please don’t look for it.]

These theories try to answer the question: what makes something funny? Before we go any further, we should make a distinction between a strong version of a theory and a weak version of a theory. For instance, if we ask why people make video, a strong answer might be, “because they want attention.” The answer is strong because it says that people only make videos to get attention, and this is the only reason anybody ever makes videos. This is a “strong” claim and it seems too strong to be right. A weaker answer might say something less ambitious like, they want attention, but that’s only one part of it. Maybe they also want validation and didn’t get enough hugs growing up, dad.

There are traditionally three theories on why we find things funny: the superiority theory, the relief theory, and the incongruity theory.So instead of enjoying jokes and having a good time, let’s analyze it to death and do some homework on them.A strong version of each theory would take the particular theory and think that the highlighted feature is essential to what makes something funny; on the other hand, a weaker version of a theory would say that the particular theory only captures one aspect to what makes something funny.

The superiority theory is simple: it says that we find something funny because we feel superior to it. It’s somewhat sadistic and has some sort of elements of schadenfreude. That’s a fancy German word for harm-joy. This can account for the bully laughing at his victims, a crowd laughing at somebody’s embarrassment, or laughing at a celebrity roast. It might include less malevolent cases, like finding amusement in a child’s naiveté or an animal in a silly costume. More interestingly, this theory can also account for more subtle things, like self-deprecating humor, irony, and esoteric jokes. Like now, I’m making a complete fool of myself. Luckily, I don’t have to show my face.Self-deprecating humor pushes the fact that I am inferior, and I want you to mock and laugh at me; of course, often this is done in an ironic way, but the irony may further reinforce your feeling of superiority. This seems tenuous, but the feature of irony most relevant here is that not everybody understands the irony of the joke. For instance, if I’m being ironic in the way I’m presenting myself as a buffoon, then part of the humor comes from you picking up on the irony, whereas not everybody would pick up on that nuance. This is a hallmark of esoteric jokes: the, “I know what you’re talking about; I’m so smart, la-dee-da.” Personally, I hate this type of humor because it’s necessarily exclusive and a bit malicious. “Ou, look at what I know and those stupid other people don’t know. If you don’t laugh, you’re stupid.” Let me add that the superiority theory, a strong version of it at least, isn’t very sensitive to ethos, or at least the importance of humility, empathy, and sympathy in comedy – that is, the connection between the joke delivery and the audience. The disconnect between the superior and inferior is estranging, and even between those who are in the superior category, the general atmosphere is showy, combative, and arrogant. Superiority might be one part, but it’s not stable enough to account for the whole of why we find some things funny. Unless you’re stupid – I’m right, okay? Moving on…

The relief theory says that we find things funny because it helps us relieve some tense feelings. The laughter might help release a general anxiety, a nervous energy, or some confusing and ambivalent mix of emotions.This theory is suggestive of some of the beneficial aspects of finding things funny: it can discharge negative emotions almost cathartically, and it can have this effect in tense social or interpersonal situations. Think of the times you laughed at an absurdly inappropriate time (to therapeutic effect), or the joke cracked at the really tense meeting, or giggles between two lovers. This theory also explains why the traditional structure of a set-up and punchline joke is so effective: there is some anticipation and buildup following some relief. I think this theory in combination with the next theory provides the most comprehensive account of why we find things funny

The incongruity theory says that it’s not the relief that makes something funny, rather it is the conflict or contradiction of ideas that makes something funny. In this light, if we look at the structure of a joke, the set-up creates an expectation and the punchline violates this expectation through some sort of misdirection or absurdity. The incongruity can be conceptualized in different ways. Immanuel Kant conceived the incongruity between our expectations and our experience, and others have followed suit by saying that the incongruity is based on categorical errors in reasoning or flaws heuristics. Schopenhauer conceives the incongruity in our sense perception of things and our abstract rational knowledge of those things.