Gelotology is the study of laughter, and as such can involve a consideration of the philosophical bases for humor. But gelotology is mainly concerned with the act of laughing itself, however, and in particular all its psychological and physiological aspects. Though gelotological research has been conducted, its main motivation is of a therapeutic and practical nature.

For theories of laughter and humor in general, we remain with the philosophers and other such “cultural thinkers.” Whatever humor is, it’s generally agreed to be a gift from God, a blessing, for it’s hard to imagine a life without laughter, which is to say a person without a sense of humor. And as tough as it would be to explain just what humor is, it’s even harder to explain why it is – though the two might well be related. For example, some evolutionary psychologists view humor as a means of sexual selection by females, as an indicator of other traits, for example intelligence, that do confer obvious survival benefits.

Indeed, intelligence seems somehow intricately linked to a sense of humor – as in the old line about “he who laughs last…thinks slowest.” Humor seems rather complicated, but specific aspects seem universal: An incongruity, a misattribution, even feelings of superiority. All these require a human being (often regarded as the only animal that laughs), a pattern-recognizing sense-making creature.

What makes something funny often goes against our preconceived notions (incongruity), or allows us to make light of serious issues (misattribution), or can even be due to a feeling of advantage (superiority). Thus we laugh if somebody shows up for work wearing a suit and tie with his pants’ zipper unzipped; we find the sight of a man falling out of a building flailing crazily, as if trying to fly, strangely funny; we might even snicker at a homeless panhandler mumbling to himself over a can of beer.

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