Superiority Theory
The superiority theory of humor traces back to Plato and Aristotle, and Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan. The general idea is that a person laughs about misfortunes of others (so called schadenfreude), because these misfortunes assert the person's superiority on the background of shortcomings of others.
For Aristotle, we laugh at inferior or ugly individuals, because we feel a joy at feeling superior to them. Socrates was reported by Plato as saying that the ridiculous was characterized by a display of self-ignorance.
Read more about this topic: Theories Of Humor
Famous quotes containing the words superiority and/or theory:
“Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)