Geneza i ewolucja humoru
On the origin and evolution of humor

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses various hypotheses that humor is an evolutionary adaptation. First, those re-search fields that may shed light on the origin and evolution of humor are presented. Second, the prob-lem of dating the origin of humor and laughter is briefly addressed. Third, three groups of evolutionaryexplanations are considered, each of which is associated with one of the main theories of humor: psy-choanalytical, cognitive-perceptual and social-behavioral theories. The data provide quite convincingevidence of cognitive and social benefits that may have facilitated the evolutionary development ofhumor. These data are consistent with core theses of the cognitive-perceptual theories of humor on theone hand and with some less prominent versions of the social-behavioral theories on the other hand.

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