Why do we laugh at others' misfortunes?

[Tosh]

Some people find some things funny, others don't. We laugh when a similar situation recurs? We laugh when people fall over and hurt themselves? We smile on the point of laughter when Langbein posts a new thread? We laugh when people are frank? We laugh when someone intentionally misinterprets our words... I find some of this funny, sometimes I think twice and stop laughing, but:

Why are things funny?
Why do we feel bad when people laugh at us?

 

[Langbein]

Like "Why life should have a meaning ?"

 

[Smurf]

Wikipedia has a good article on humour. If you want detailed theories I'd recommend Freud.

 

[Tosh]

Wikipedia has a good article on humour. If you want detailed theories I'd recommend Freud.

Oh, as simple as that is it. It's already been done...extensively! I thought it was interesting, and now I just been told straight. Thanks

 

[Tosh]

Like "Why life should have a meaning ?"

Yes, Langbein, so similar. Sorry, I don't liken those two, I tried to, but I just can't.

 

[jiohdi]

I pondered this just a couple of weeks ago, and in my meditative state the following came to me-- each of us has an expectational boundary. when things fall beyond it we find them pleasing, when thing fall within it, painful. when we place our boundary next to anothers, their pain zone overlaps our pleasure zone... when we place their boundries on top of ours, their pain becomes our pain, and their pleasure our pleasure... empathy in a word. so when someone has a suprizingly sudden painful event, it is outside our boundary and there is a sudden pleasure sensation and when it is powerful enough its like a sneeze causing us to laugh.