Laughter as Confession

some thoughts on what it is we do when we laugh; or, contra discipulos Schopenhaueri

Photo by Mark Daynes on Unsplash

Laughter is a funny thing –but what is it?¹ Is it speech? Is it non-speech, like the thump of a stone in the grass? Is it something “in-between” –a part of that company of things which includes the bark of dogs, the purr of cats, the whisper of tree branches, the caw of birds? What does it mean to laugh?

We can describe th…