Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said, “A serious and good philosophical work
could be written consisting entirely of jokes.” Despite the buffoonish imagery
that comes to mind when one considers the joker, the clown or the
pie-in-the-face comedian, humor is more than mere silliness. It is an advanced
intellectual means of developing new perspectives and coping with extreme
circumstances.
A maltreated animal has two potential responses to an
abusive master: attack to stop the abuse, or cower/flee to avoid it. He cannot
disarm the bully with a witty remark or ironically imitate his master behind his
back for his own amusement. One of the first government actions in Nazi Germany
was the establishment of a law against treacherous attacks on the state and
party that made anti-Nazi humor an act of treason, and there was a reason for
this. Research has shown that humor is the most effective means of preventing
the indoctrination of brainwashing.
Used as both a shield and a weapon,
humor has the power to soothe the most wounded and threaten the most evil. These
qualities speak to its inherent potential – a potential that has not yet been
entirely tapped or even recognized. Holocaust survivor Emil Fackenheim said, “We
kept our morale through humor,” and many other survivors of the Holocaust, POW
camps, torture and abuse have shared his sentiment. The stories of these
survivors and findings of modern medical research support the notion that humor
is an extremely effective tool for managing our advanced awareness and for
creating new perspectives to cope with otherwise unbearable environments or
circumstances.
Evidence for the direct benefits of humor lie in studies
of the body’s chemical reaction to laughter. Among other things, laughter has
been shown to reduce stress, boost the immune system and enhance brain chemistry
through the release of serotonin and endorphins. Many popular antidepressants
target the neurotransmitter serotonin by either blocking its reuptake or
increasing production, but one can “self-medicate” using one’s own serotonin
supply by watching a funny movie, going to a comedy show or playing a fun game.
For the rejected lover or laid off worker, this self-induced boost of serotonin
activates a neurochemical reaction that enhances their ability to tolerate the
stress response and think creatively of coping options. Humor is a very
effective means of dealing with overwhelming emotion and taking control of a
situation. Hunter “Patch” Adams, the physician portrayed by Robin Williams in
the movie bearing his name, continues to use laughter as a primary tool in his
treatment of patients, to great success. He is just one example of many who have
witnessed and reported first-hand accounts of how essential humor is to both
physical and emotional health.
It has been said that tragedy occurs
where the tree, instead of bending, breaks. Amy Bishop, the University of
Alabama professor who recently shot three colleagues to death and wounded three
others, has frequently been referred to as serious, intense and humorless. She
clearly had the intellect to perform at the highest levels of society, but not
the tools to cope with the related stresses. Had she taken the time to develop
the tool that nature gave her for dealing with that stress, a sense of humor,
her three colleagues might still be alive today. Many people have found ways to
laugh off much worse things than being denied tenure, and the skill is one that
is within us all.
Whereas professors teach us what has been written by
other serious academics, comedians tell us what is going on in the world around
us through a first-hand account that we can immediately identify with and
understand. Comedic news programs such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and
The Colbert Report owe their phenomenal success to the common desire to hear the
truth and face the world, but in tolerable terms. The comedian is not afraid to
talk about the fears and concerns that most people try hard to conceal or deny.
By not only bringing them into the open but also laughing at and minimizing
them, the comedian puts himself and his audience in control and the concealed
fears dissipate in the shared light of day.
We have all heard of the
“Way of the Warrior” and the “Way of the Buddha,” and we live the “Way of the
Professional,” the “Way of the Academic,” the “Way of the Spouse,” the “Way of
the Parent,” etc. But for those looking for an easier and more fun path to a
happier, healthier life, the “Way of the Comedian” could be the way to go. To
those who avoid comedic opportunities in an effort to preserve a reputation as a
serious professional, Wittgenstein said, “Never stay up on the barren heights of
cleverness, but come down into the green valleys of silliness.” Widely regarded
as the greatest philosopher of the 20th century, he speaks words of wisdom.
Some famous individuals who shared this perspective are quoted below:
A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your
steps as you walk the tightrope of life.
--William Arthur Ward
You
can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in
anything, even poverty, you can survive it.
--Bill Cosby
There is no
defense against adverse fortune which is so effectual as an habitual sense of
humor.
--Thomas W. Higginson
The more I live, the more I think that
humor is the saving sense.
--Jacob August Riis
Imagination was given
to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for
what he is.
--Francis Bacon
If I had no sense of humor, I would long
ago have committed suicide.
--Mohandas Gandhi
Humor is mankind's
greatest blessing.
--Mark Twain
A person without a sense of humor is
like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road.
--Henry Ward Beecher
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