We humans laugh often and it is not always because something is funny. We laugh in the face of the pathetic or the powerless; sometimes we laugh at our own powerlessness or pathos. In short, we laugh at both the comical and the difficult. Here I am especially interested in the laughter that is sparked by what is difficult and how that…

Many theories have been developed to try to explain humor, among them, the social theory; psychoanalytic theories based on Freud; cognitive theories which identify stages corresponding to those of Piaget; and eclectic theories which combine elements of all the theories. The developmental stages of humor parallel the intellectual and emotional…