Bergson, on Comedy

Comedy, according to Henri Bergson, is strictly human. "You may laugh at an animal, but only because you have detected in it some human attitude or expression." In order to laugh, however, one must be indifferent to the situation, for, as Bergson would express, "laughter has no greater foe than emotion." To explain this point, I would refer back to the comedy of Jerry Seinfeld. In the final Seinfeld episode, the four friends stand by and observe a mugger attacking a rather large man. The man, we can see, is under a great deal of stress as he pulls out his wallet for the mugger, whose involved emotion in one of anger and agitation. The four main characters stand back and laugh at the situation. They have no involvement, in their minds.