HUMOR AS AN ATTRIBUTE OF THE MIND OR A TRIGGER OF HYPE

The philosophical study on laughter deepens our understanding of the human mind. Due to laughter, a person touches the limits of rationality, while not destroying them, only expanding. Distinguishing between non-humorous laughter and humorous one (i. e. generated by humor) helps, on the one hand, to distinguish its merely human form, and, on the other hand, to consider laughter as a universal feature, common both to the human and animal worlds. The concept of humorous amusement allows us to understand the mechanism of transformation of laughter into humorous laughter, and due to that, a conceptual shift occurs. Nevertheless, there is also a possibility for humor to transform into hype. Then, instead of stimulating conceptual changes that expand the horizon of understanding, narrowing or manipulative directing of those changes take place.