This is unique in a way, not many philosophers wrote about laughter or humor. The most any notable thinker wrote - like Plato, Hobbes, and Kant - was an essay or a few paragraphs within a discussion of another topic. Henri Bergson’s 'Laughter' was the first book by a notable philosopher on humor!
Also, it should be noted that the word humor was not used in its current sense of funniness until the 18th century.

Humor arises from the incongruity between our notions of ourselves as humans, and the subversion of that notion by the mechanical nature of our lives.

Read The Incongruity Theory here!
But that'd be too much to do on this!
But maybe you want to for some reason!
Or...just don't! Go and watch some telly goddammit! ( )

This is unique in a way, not many philosophers wrote about laughter or humor. The most any notable thinker wrote - like Plato, Hobbes, and Kant - was an essay or a few paragraphs within a discussion of another topic. Henri Bergson’s 'Laughter' was the first book by a notable philosopher on humor!
Also, it should be noted that the word humor was not used in its current sense of funniness until the 18th century.

Humor arises from the incongruity between our notions of ourselves as humans, and the subversion of that notion by the mechanical nature of our lives.

Read The Incongruity Theory here!
But that'd be too much to do on this!
But maybe you want to for some reason!
Or...just don't! Go and watch some telly goddammit! ( )

This is unique in a way, not many philosophers wrote about laughter or humor. The most any notable thinker wrote - like Plato, Hobbes, and Kant - was an essay or a few paragraphs within a discussion of another topic. Henri Bergson’s 'Laughter' was the first book by a notable philosopher on humor!
Also, it should be noted that the word humor was not used in its current sense of funniness until the 18th century.

Humor arises from the incongruity between our notions of ourselves as humans, and the subversion of that notion by the mechanical nature of our lives.

Read The Incongruity Theory here!
But that'd be too much to do on this!
But maybe you want to for some reason!
Or...just don't! Go and watch some telly goddammit! ( )

Actually a pretty good theory on laughter and comedy, but it was hard to follow sometimes as Bergson relied on an extensive familiarity with a bunch of French plays, so,e of which I know nothing about. Fortunately he also referred to Shakespeare, but primarily as examples of tragedy, as a contrast to comedy. ( )