Humour Comedy and Laughter

<p> Anthropological writings on humor are not very numerous or extensive but they do contain a great deal of insight into the diverse mental and social processes that underlie joking and laughter. On the basis of a wide range of ethnographic and textual materials the chapters examine the cognitive social and moral aspects of humor and its potential to bring about a sense of amity and mutual understanding even among different and possibly hostile people. Unfortunately though cartoons jokes and parodies can cause irremediable distress and offence. Nevertheless contributors' cross-cultural evidence confirms that the positive aspects of humor far outweigh the danger of deepening divisions and fueling hostilities</p>