Humor and Aesthetic Education

It is not difficult to elicit from well-educated people some statement to the effect that art, and aesthetic experience generally, are important. Even if most people spend little time in visiting galleries and listening to good music or in doing anything artistic themselves, they at least have been educated to think of such things as among the highest of human pursuits; and given a few extra hours in the week plus a little encouragement, they might devote more time to aesthetic activities. On the other hand, I suspect that most people, if asked about the importance of laughter and humor, would rank these considerably lower. Maybe we joke and laugh more often than we engage in aesthetic activities, but frequency is no measure of importance. Joking and laughing have their place in our daily lives, but so do the coffee break and the occasional fit of whistling; none of these, however, need be counted among our highest activities. Indeed, many people have been educated to think of laughter and humor as something frivolous which gets in the way of serious pursuits.