Project Gutenberg 2003-08-01 Public domain in the USA. 60452 Bergson, Henri 1859 1941 Bergson, Henri Louis Bergson, H. (Henri) Brereton, Cloudesley 1863 1937 Brereton, Cloudesley Shovell Henry Rothwell, Fred 1869 1934 Rothwell, F. (Frederick) Rothwell, Frederick Le rire. English Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laughter_(book) Translation of: Le rire. Produced by Steve Harris, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines. "Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic" by Henri Bergson is a philosophical essay written in the early 20th century. The work explores the nature of humor and laughter, diving into various aspects of the comic and presenting a novel theory regarding its roots in human psychology and social interactions. Bergson examines how the comic influences human behavior, suggesting that laughter often serves a corrective function within society. The opening of the essay introduces Bergson's inquiry into the essence of laughter, questioning its underlying principles and the reasons behind why certain actions evoke a comedic response. He emphasizes the social aspect of laughter, noting its connection to shared human experiences and the importance of the comic in understanding social dynamics. Through observations about rigid behaviors and absent-mindedness in human actions, Bergson sets the tone for an analysis that seeks to connect the comic phenomenon with broader themes of life and art. By outlining the role of the comic as a reflection of human social interaction, he sets the stage for exploring further definitions and examples of comedy in different forms. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 55.9 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Comedy Philosophy, French Laughter PN Text Philosophy Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: Philosophy & Ethics 264174 2025-07-02T10:36:36.061587 text/html 258218 2020-12-27T23:40:24 text/html 182315 2025-07-02T10:36:42.249561 application/epub+zip 184440 2025-07-02T10:36:39.083600 application/epub+zip 162572 2025-07-02T10:36:37.968602 application/epub+zip 353556 2025-07-02T10:36:44.786564 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 341757 2025-07-02T10:36:41.561583 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 252037 2022-09-02T14:15:41.124547 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 252732 2025-07-02T10:36:35.714587 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 252575 2020-12-27T23:40:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 21123 2025-07-02T10:36:44.923563 application/rdf+xml 16215 2025-07-02T10:36:38.464592 image/jpeg 3800 2025-07-02T10:36:38.216589 image/jpeg 96922 2020-12-27T23:40:24 application/octet-stream application/zip 95535 2020-12-27T23:40:24 application/octet-stream application/zip 178326 2025-07-02T10:36:36.082605 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia fr.wikipedia