The Superiority Theory: Humor as Anti-Social:
Both classical philosophers and early Biblical theologians
railed against humor and laughter, since they believed both lead to a loss of
control and anti-social behavior. This
suspicion of humor and laughter led to the development of the Superiority
Theory, the first theory of humor, and still one of the of most widely
accepted.
Two classical writers: Protagoras (“Be not possessed by
irrepressible mirth.”) and Epictetus (“Let not your laughter be loud, frequent,
or unrestrained.”)
Excessive laughter was thought to be a sign of a weak
character
Plato was the most influential of classical philosophers,
and he thought humor was an emotion that overrides rational self-control. He thought that laughter was primarily caused
by malice towards those being laughed at.
This became one of the foundations of the Superiority Theory. We laugh at others and thereby feel superior
towards them.
The Bible has multiple passages criticizing humor and
laughter:
Proverbs 26: 18-19, “A man who deceives another and then
says, ‘It was only a joke,’ is like a madman shooting at random his deadly
darts and arrows.”
Psalms 2: 2-5, “The kings of the earth stand ready . . .The
Lord who sits enthroned in heave laughs at them to scorn, then rebukes them in
anger.”
2 Kings 2: 23, “He [Elisha] went up from there to Bethel
and, as he was on his way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at
him, saying, ‘Get along with you, bald head, get along.’ He turned round and looked at them and he cursed them in the name of the
Lord; and two she-bears came out of a wood and mauled forty-two of them.”
Early Christian theologians were harsher in their comments
on humor and laughter.
Basil the Great: “raucous laughter and uncontrollable
shaking of the body are not indications of a well-regulated soul, or of
personal dignity, or self-mastery.”
John Chrysostom: Laughter often gives birth to foul
discourse, and foul discourse to actions still more foul. Often from words and laughter proceed railing
and insult; and from railing and insult, blows and would; and from blows and
wounds, slaughter and murder. If, then,
you would take good counsel for yourself, avoid not merely foul words and foul
deeds, or blows and wounds and murders, but unseasonable laughter itself.
Rules of St. Benedict: “prefer moderation in speech and
speak no foolish chatter, nothing just to provoke laughter; do no love
immoderate or boisterous laughter.”
St. Benedict’s Ladder of Humility: Step Ten, restraint
against laughter; Step Eleven, warning against joking
Monastery of Columban: “He who smiles in the service . . .
six strokes”
Syrian Abbot Ephraem: “Laughter is the beginning of the
destruction of the soul . . . when you notice something of that, know that you
have arrived at the depth of evil.”
The Puritan William Prynne condemned comedy as incompatible
with the sobriety of good Christians, who should not be “immoderately tickled
with mere lascivious vanities, or . . . lash out in excessive cacchinations in
the public view of dissolute graceless persons.”
The Puritans under Cromwell banned comedy from the English
stage.
Thomas Hobbes viewed humanity as individualistic and
competitive, resulting in a “war of all against all.” In their competition with each other, people
are quick to laugh at the weaknesses and foibles they see in others. It is this sense of feeling superior to
others that gave rise to the Superiority Theory (laughter at the expense of
others).
Hobbes: “Sudden glory, is the passion which makes those
grimaces called laughter, and is caused wither by some sudden act of their own,
that pleases them; or by an apprehension of some deformed thing in another, by
comparison whereof they suddenly applaud themselves.”
Laughter came to be viewed as an expression of feelings of
superiority over others. Advocates of
the Superiority Theory believe that when something evokes laughter, it is by
revealing someone’s inferiority to the person laughing. Laughter is basically anti-social.
Two English writers, Ben Johnson and Sir Philip Sydney
argued that laughter was redemptive. In
his Defense of Poesie, Sidney argued
that, “Comedy is an imitation of the common errors of our life . . .” Both argued that comedy was a moral force to
correct shortcomings and errors; comedy holds vices up to ridicule.”
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