Is humor universal?

The capacity to laugh at things is universal, but everyone has a slightly different opinion on what's funny or not. I find a lot of things funny that most people would pass out at, for example.

I think if one item we would consider as being 'universal' among the world-people, then it would be HUNGER. As we all know that the list of 'universality' then goes like our need to get clothing and shelter etc.

In broader sense, yes we all like to be amused and be a bit sarcastically humorous depending on our individual ability to comprehend these 'digressions'. Consider people who are still living a primitive lives in say Papua New Guinea or such remote places, could you find them to be humorous? I do not think so. These people are busy gathering food and making shelters etc to fulfill their basic needs. But if you enlighten them and bring all the facilities that we take for granted, then you would find them to be enjoying these finer things in life like humor. So, the more developed and enlightened a society is the more chances are that their people could at least appreciate humor, if not enjoy it.

I found the following article interesting:

Quote:

The Universal Traits of Humor

While each individual has a distinct sense of humor and may be tickled by events that are different from those that tickle friends and family, there are universal categories of "stimuli" that trigger humorous reactions in all human beings.

Why is it that some people experience humor in a particular situation, while others do not? When two people experience the same event and react differently, that difference is based on each individual’s unique perception.

While it is clear that ”sense of humor” varies widely among individuals and groups, it is the presence of one or more of the universal characteristics of humor that make events more likely to be perceived as funny by the observer. Among the universal characteristics that may produce a humorous response are the experiences of:

• Incongruity,

• Absurdity, ludicrousness, or ridiculousness,

• An unexpected future,

• A pleasant surprise,

• Being startled,

• “Getting it,” and

• Emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.

A sense of humor can be defined as the ability to perceive one or more of the universal characteristics. Therefore, one’s sense of humor involves the capacity to appreciate incongruity, absurdity, an unexpected future, a pleasant surprise, a startle, getting it and/or emotional chaos remembered in tranquility. ......

Un-quote

Hey Mojoman,

Mostly no. Potty humor is probably the closest to universal. But jokes about the stock market would be lost on a starving population. Not universal like art or math.

Situations occur in all cultures that are humorus in those cultures, but not in all others.

If humor was universal, we all would be laughing. But unfortunately, some have no humor at all. That's probably why some are so uptight, they need to tune in to humor more often.

Yes, of course. Humor is a special character to the humans. Obviously, it is universal.

Yes - all homo sapiens have the ability to appreciate humor and laugh.

However, the only thing that may be different is the "Humor" itself since what may be humorous in one culture may not be the least funny in another!

unfortunately no, each culture has it's own perspective on what funny is and especially over seas you have to watch what you say. for example: the saying about the left hand not knowing what the right is doing is also an example of arab humor since they wipe their butts with the left hand. some scholars think when jesus called peter the rock it might have been an example of his own humor since peter wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and you have rock possibly meaning "thick as a rock"

peace!

Vin

yes i think it is very much universal. Tell a good joke and see the result. everybody is going to laugh. or show a smiling baby's picture and the humor will spread all over without any discrimination of cast creed or religion.

Yes humour is universal in the sense that every culture, every corner of the globe has it in some form. We all need to laugh & we all enjoy humour. Sense of humour however is very personal and individual. We don't all find the same things funny. Usually the things we relate to the most strike us as funny & this depends on your own experience.

As a concept, it is. But what is considered funny it's different for different groups of people because humor involves a lot of cultural references.