Laughter disarms ideology because it dissolves fear and enables thought
Evidence
Ideologies of all kinds, especially religions, hate laughter because they know how dangerous it is. He who laughs at a thing is no longer afraid of it. […] The fear of laughter is the fear of thinking. — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 413
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Industrialized laughter represses fear by capitulating to power instead of escaping it — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 110; Laughter at genitals masks shame over their involuntary passivity.; Adorno sees shared laughter as a counterfeit of true solidarity. — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 667 (+2 more)
Related
- Industrialized laughter represses fear by capitulating to power instead of escaping it (similarity 0.85)
- Adorno sees shared laughter as a counterfeit of true solidarity. (similarity 0.84)
- Audience laughter at gratification signals repression, not mere immaturity (similarity 0.80)
- Laughter at genitals masks shame over their involuntary passivity. (similarity 0.80)