The Awakening of Inner Humor

Imagine that laughter does not simply arise from a meticulously crafted joke, but as a manifestation of a long-held, hidden spark of inner humor. The onset of this phenomenon is reminiscent of the moment when the master of humor is not so much creating something new as awakening what was already concealed within us. The main idea is that even if the “trick” is exposed or the secret of the joke is revealed, the emotional reaction remains—laughter goes beyond conscious understanding and becomes an expression of an automatic process embedded in our subconscious. This effect refreshes us, as if the inner comedy, which had been in a state of light slumber, suddenly awakens, allowing us to experience joy and energy. In conclusion, humor is not only a play on words but also an amazing mechanism that enables our inner world to come alive and delight us in the most unexpected moments.

What might explain why people who use humor for self-expression react with laughter even after their jokes have been exposed? People who use humor as a form of self-expression often experience laughter even after the joke has been unraveled because the laughter here is not so much the result of a consciously engineered “gag” as it is the manifestation of an inner, pre-existing comedy that is simply being awakened. As noted in one source, “However, when the master of humor comes along and demonstrates the comedy to us, we do not feel that he arbitrarily invented it and overly poeticized the situation; rather, we get the impression that he merely extracted it: it was already there on its own, possibly only in a dormant state, and now it has been awakened to play and flourish. When inner comedy manifests unexpectedly, laughter simply overwhelms us.” (source: link )

This explanation indicates that the effect of laughter is connected to the activation of a hidden, underlying sense of humor inherent in each of us. Even if one understands that the joke has been laid bare and its “trick” no longer holds any mystery, the emotional state induced by the sudden awakening of inner comedy continues to influence them. Thus, laughter here is not so much a reaction to the novelty or secrecy of the joke, but rather the expression of a deeply ingrained emotional response, which can persist due to its sudden and almost automatic nature.

Supporting citation(s):
“However, when the master of humor comes along and demonstrates the comedy to us, we do not feel that he arbitrarily invented it and overly poeticized the situation; rather, we get the impression that he merely extracted it: it was already there on its own, possibly only in a dormant state, and now it has been awakened to play and flourish. When inner comedy manifests unexpectedly, laughter simply overwhelms us.” (source: link )