Gunter, P. A. Y.  “Whitehead, Bergson, Freud: Suggestions Toward a Theory of Laughter.”  The Southern  Journal of  Philosophy  4 (Summer 1966): 55-60.

Abstract

This essay explores the theories of laughter of Alfred North Whitehead, Henri Bergson, and Sigmund Freud.  Whitehead views laughter as being either life-affirming or life-denying.  Bergson conceives laughter as a sort of social "ragging."  Freud construes laughter as a saving of psychic energy, but is unable thereby to account for humor.  This essay concludes with the suggestion that the "two-sidedness" of laughter noted by Whitehead is fundamental; laughter based on creative eros is one basic type, while laughter based on destructive thanatos is another.  Laughter springs from an incongruous juxtaposition of "life" and "death," and may be weighted toward either. [Abstract from The Philosopher’s Index]