Detection of Mistaken Reasoning
In 2011, three researchers, Hurley, Dennett and Adams, published a book that reviews previous theories of humor and many specific jokes. They propose the theory that humor evolved because it strengthens the ability of the brain to find mistakes in active belief structures, that is, to detect mistaken reasoning. This is somewhat consistent with the sexual selection theory, because, as stated above, humor would be a reliable indicator of an important survival trait: the ability to detect mistaken reasoning. However, the three researchers argue that humor is fundamentally important because it is the very mechanism that allows the human brain to excel at practical problem solving. Thus, according to them, humor did have survival value even for early humans, because it enhanced the neural circuitry needed to survive.
Read more about this topic: Theories Of Humor
Famous quotes containing the words mistaken and/or reasoning:
“‘Tis very much like light, a thing that everybody knows, and yet none can tell what to make of it: ‘Tis not money, fortune, joynture, raving, stabbing, hanging, romancing, flouncing, swearing, ramping, desiring, fighting, dying, though all those have been, are, and still will be mistaken and miscalled for it.”
—The Ladies’ Dictionary, definition of love (1694)
“Reasoning is the pastime of my whole household, and all this reasoning has driven out Reason.”
—Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin] (1622–1673)