Freud - The Joke and Its Relation To The Unconscious
About this book:
Why do we laugh? The answer, argued Freud in this groundbreaking study of humor, is that jokes, like dreams, satisfy our unconscious desires. The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious explains how jokes provide immense pleasure by releasing us from our inhibitions and allowing us to express sexual, aggressive, playful, or cynical instincts that would otherwise remain hidden. In elaborating this theory, Freud brings together a rich collection of puns, witticisms, one-liners, and anecdotes, which, as Freud shows, are a method of giving ourselves away.
Commentary:
"This book is one of Freud's more accessible forays into culture and the psychologies of social life, with less investment in the psychoanalytic process as a form of therapy than some of his other books, and fewer discussions of doctor-patient relationships; but such topics are never far from his mind. What do we learn about people from the jokes they tell? Why do we joke? Why does laughter seem involuntary? Why is something so common and universal so difficult to explain? These are some of the questions Freud tackles."
Read the full commentary here!