Plato, on laughter:

Plato introduces us to the Superiority Theory of laughter. John Morreall, editor of The Philosophy of Laughter and Humor, describes the Superiority Theory by suggesting that "laughter is always directed at somebody as a kind of scorn." In following, Plato's Philebus places Socrates in a dialogue with Protarchus, explaining the simultaneity of pleasure and pain in laughter: pleasure, in the laughter itself, and pain, in the ridicule of others. A simple example of this would be finding humor in a friend's clumsiness: he hits the softball, pride swelling in his chest as he gauges the distance of the flight. He decides to kick it in to high gear rounding first--but in doing so, trips over the bag into a flailing leap and rolls to a stop between first and second base. The opposing team tags him out. We laugh at this (or, at least, I certainly did when I witnessed this spectacle), because of the ridiculous attempt of success in a skill not highly practiced by the subject.