Aristotle

Plato

Socrates

Epicurus

To make people laugh

To teach people a moral lesson

To provide catharsis

To all of the above

Comedy is about the misfortunes of others, while tragedy is about the misfortunes of oneself

Comedy is about the misfortunes of others, while tragedy is about the misfortunes of those who deserve it

Comedy is about the misfortunes of those who deserve it, while tragedy is about the misfortunes of oneself

Comedy is about the misfortunes of those who deserve it, while tragedy is about the misfortunes of those who do not deserve it

The protagonist is a good person who is undeservedly punished

The protagonist is a bad person who is deservedly punished

The protagonist is a good person who is deservedly punished

The protagonist is a bad person who is undeservedly punished

The audience should laugh at the protagonist

The audience should feel pity for the protagonist

The audience should feel fear for the protagonist

The audience should feel all of the above

The theory that comedy is based on the feeling of superiority one feels when laughing at someone else's misfortune

The theory that comedy is based on the feeling of inferiority one feels when laughing at someone else's misfortune

The theory that comedy is based on the feeling of equality one feels when laughing at someone else's misfortune

The theory that comedy is based on the feeling of difference one feels when laughing at someone else's misfortune

Thomas Hobbes

John Locke

David Hume

Immanuel Kant

The theory that comedy is based on the perception of incongruity

The theory that comedy is based on the perception of congruity

The theory that comedy is based on the perception of difference

The theory that comedy is based on the perception of similarity

Arthur Schopenhauer

Friedrich Nietzsche

Søren Kierkegaard

Martin Heidegger

The theory that comedy is based on the release of pent-up emotions

The theory that comedy is based on the suppression of pent-up emotions

The theory that comedy is based on the expression of pent-up emotions

The theory that comedy is based on the sublimation of pent-up emotions

Sigmund Freud

Carl Jung

Alfred Adler

Wilhelm Reich

The theory that comedy is based on the purification of emotions

The theory that comedy is based on the contamination of emotions

The theory that comedy is based on the sublimation of emotions

The theory that comedy is based on the expression of emotions

Aristotle

Plato

Socrates

Epicurus

The theory that comedy is a form of social criticism

The theory that comedy is a form of social support

The theory that comedy is a form of social control

The theory that comedy is a form of social change

Karl Marx

Friedrich Engels

Vladimir Lenin

Leon Trotsky