Henri Bergson

Laughter Henri Bergson

Henry Bergson's Laughter is a collection of three essays. Bergson begins the work with a brief introduction in which he clarifies that his aim is not to define "comic" as a term, but rather to better understand the role of comedy in human life and how it relates to the individual and societal imagination. The first essay in the book, "The Comic in General," highlights three essential principles by which Bergson sees "the comic" as defined. Firstly, the comic is a strictly human convention. It must concern human beings-or at least human habits and behaviors. Secondly, comedy recedes before the emotions. To find something funny, a person must subvert their emotions so they can view a person or situation in a detached manner. Thirdly, comedy is a social experience. Laughter occurs the most naturally and the most frequently in the context of a group regarding an outside entity.