Based on this theory, humor is used to generate a feeling of superiority over the target or butt of the joke whereby the butt loses face; therefore, it could contain disparagement and hostility. This view of humor is believed to be developed by Plato and Aristotle at the beginning (Reimann, 2010; Kochersberger, 2012). Since, Aristotle and Plato admitted that people got pleasure from others' misfortunes, inadequacies, and incapacities, because they were not suffering the same problems; in other words, they were in a superior position compared to individuals being ridiculed (Ermida, 2009; Palmer, 2003).
However, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes is known to be the founder of the superiority theory (Berger & Wildavsky, 1994; Dean, 2003; Ross, 2005). …show more content…
The reasonability of this negative value judgment could be under question; because humiliating others with the purpose of gaining confirmation for oneself can be regarded as a 'sign of pusillanimity' (Palmer, 2003, p. 94). Besides, according to Hurley, Dennett, and Adams (2011), competitiveness was not the original function of humor. Attardo (1994) classifies superiority theory under the social theory of humor and states that, since superiority theory reflects a mixture of interpersonal and social aspects, this theory involves sociolinguistics of …show more content…
A: a knife has a point. or, Q: How do you know when a woman is about to say something smart?
A: When she starts her sentence with "A man once told me..." The second set, that is racist jokes, can best be illustrated by the examples of ethnic jokes, where traits such as stupidity or stinginess are ascribed to groups of people. Of course, in some cases these jokes do not directly target the individuals in a group; rather, they target specific characteristics ascribed to those groups, including their divergence from or violation of the mainstream beliefs of the dominant society. Davies (1982) explains how the groups at extreme ends such as 'stupid' and 'crafty-stingy' are both targets of jokes in industrial societies. In England, these jokes are made about Irish and Scottish people as the groups at two extremes:
Did you hear about the two Irish scientists who sent a rocket to the sun without any heat shields?
It was alright though; they sent it up at night. and Q: How do you know if a Scotsman is left-handed?
A: He keeps all his money in his right-hand
However, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes is known to be the founder of the superiority theory (Berger & Wildavsky, 1994; Dean, 2003; Ross, 2005). …show more content…
The reasonability of this negative value judgment could be under question; because humiliating others with the purpose of gaining confirmation for oneself can be regarded as a 'sign of pusillanimity' (Palmer, 2003, p. 94). Besides, according to Hurley, Dennett, and Adams (2011), competitiveness was not the original function of humor. Attardo (1994) classifies superiority theory under the social theory of humor and states that, since superiority theory reflects a mixture of interpersonal and social aspects, this theory involves sociolinguistics of …show more content…
A: a knife has a point. or, Q: How do you know when a woman is about to say something smart?
A: When she starts her sentence with "A man once told me..." The second set, that is racist jokes, can best be illustrated by the examples of ethnic jokes, where traits such as stupidity or stinginess are ascribed to groups of people. Of course, in some cases these jokes do not directly target the individuals in a group; rather, they target specific characteristics ascribed to those groups, including their divergence from or violation of the mainstream beliefs of the dominant society. Davies (1982) explains how the groups at extreme ends such as 'stupid' and 'crafty-stingy' are both targets of jokes in industrial societies. In England, these jokes are made about Irish and Scottish people as the groups at two extremes:
Did you hear about the two Irish scientists who sent a rocket to the sun without any heat shields?
It was alright though; they sent it up at night. and Q: How do you know if a Scotsman is left-handed?
A: He keeps all his money in his right-hand