4 Homo Ridens: Physiology and Psychology
If one fully understood the phenomenon of laughter, one would have understood the central mystery of human nature. That mystery is how human nature is constituted by a body that is part and parcel of biological evolution, and by that elusive entity variously called mind, soul, or spirit.
There can be no doubt that, whatever else it is and by whatever it is provoked, laughter is a physiological process:
As a muscular phenomenon, laughter is easy to describe. It consists of spasmodic contractions of the large and small zygomatic (facial) muscles and sudden relaxations of the diaphragm accompanied by contractions of the larynx and epiglottis. Laughter differs from smiling simply in that the smile does not ...
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