What Makes Humor Aesthetic?

The connection between humor and aesthetic experience has already been recognized by several thinkers and aesthetic educators. This essay extends the research of John Morreall and others who have examined the various connections between humor and aesthetics by focusing on the distinction between aesthetic and non-aesthetic humor. The author begins his analysis by describing the nature and purpose of aesthetic experience while briefly distinguishing it from other human endeavors. In the next part, he critically examines Morreall’s distinction between aesthetic and non-aesthetic humor and argues that it does not adequately account for the differences between the two. The final part of this essay proposes an alternative understanding of the distinction between aesthetic and non-aesthetic humor. Drawing on the example of four comedic performances, the author asserts that the difference between aesthetic and non-aesthetic humor needs to be assessed on the basis of the impact of the humor on the people who are viewing it rather than on the motivations and intentions of the performer.