According to Plato and friends, Humor was not only unworthy of any extended discussion, but it was considered a danger to be actively avoided. For thousands of years, a dismissal of Humor in Western philosophy and academic circles continued even though humanity enjoyed a good laugh long before Aristotle tied his first toga and they still do today.

Why the big hullabaloo? Whenever thinkers who champion the rational get nervous, chances are the Unconscious is involved. Depth psychology with its characteristic embrace of the unseen, unknowable, unruly, and unexpected, provides an explanation that recenters Humor as central to the psyche’s experience.

In this class, Jungian concepts such as the tension of opposites, the transcendent function, archetypal energy, the shadow, the use of the imagination, the importance of play, and the somatic benefits of laughter reveal Humor to be a powerful tool of expanded perception, an opportunity to explore and utilize unconscious energies, and an optimum strategy for survival in an oft tragic world.

Beyond the benefits of Humor to our psyche, however, examples of humor are beneficial to the explanation of the psyche itself. Depth Psychological principles, an examination of historical theories about what makes something funny, and plenty of funny examples including clown practice, offer an understanding that Humor and the fun it engenders is worthy of serious consideration.

Weekly Module Titles and Descriptions:

Module 1: Humor: Sense or Nonsense?

This session provides an overview of Humor’s bad reputation over the years and examines how Humor and Culture are inextricably intertwined. The notion that the tragic is more serious than the comic, and therefore, more worthy of attention, pervades most fields of study. Depth Psychology, a discipline originally formed to heal, also concentrates more on the lemon than the lemonade. Even so, an overview of relevant Jungian and Humanities scholarship will establish Humor as not only a powerful experience of the psyche but also as something powerfully suited to explaining how the psyche works.

Module 2: A Trickster, A Fool, and a Clown walk into a bar….

While their titles are often used interchangeably, and their characters dine together in Humor’s cafeteria, the archetypes themselves are quite different. These agents of chaos, wisdom, and survival, respectively, will be examined closely for their own lights and Shadows. Additionally, a discussion of the autonomy and often unexpected nature of archetypal energy is obligatory when dealing with such famously unruly Ambassadors of the Unconscious. Insight into how the techniques of clown performers can be used as a creative foundation for such archetypal energy is also covered.

Module 3: Big Shoes and a Tiny Hat: Costume of the Transcendent Function

From the Persona vs. the Shadow to Self vs. the Other, Jung considered the Tension of Opposites to be a core component of the psyche and its operations. Similarly, from puns that depend on two different meanings of a word to clown logic that regards an obstacle as an opportunity, a similar tension acts as a defining characteristic of what makes something funny. Jung believed that accepting the paradoxes inherent to such relationships generated creativity and induced a third thing he called The Transcendent Function: a new state of consciousness. This session explores how Humor both creates and is the third thing.

Module 4: Both Medicine and Weapon

Continuing the exploration of Humor’s inherently paradoxical nature, this session specifically examines Humor as both an instrument of healing and a catalyst for destruction. Discussion includes the somatic benefits of laughter, the notion of the absurd as existential armor, the fuller use of the psyche a sense of humor provides, and the power of play. On the more chaotic end of the spectrum, this session also looks at the genre of satire, comedy as anarchy, the physical mayhem of clowns, an obsession with The Truth, and the vital humility that comes after a fall (physical or otherwise).

 (CEC) Continuing Education Credit Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the basis of traditional dismissals of Humor in scholarship and identify the possible cultural agendas behind them.
• Assess how the psyche can receive, interact with, and be transformed by Humor and what this implies about how the psyche functions.
• Describe the presence, possible manifestations, and behaviors of Archetypes associated with Humor.
• Explain how Humor is uniquely suited to reveal fundamental aspects of the Unconscious.
• Assess instances of the Transcendent Function in Humor and consider its specific ramifications on the psyche.
• Apply Humor’s strategies of perspective and behavior that allow The Tension of Opposites to become a catalyst for creativity.
• List three ways Humor can be used as a tool for change socially, somatically, and psychologically.
• Explain Humor’s relationship to the truth and in what ways it makes truths more readily acknowledged by those who need to hear them.

This Course is Ideal For:

• Mental health professionals (LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, psychologists, and counselors) seeking to integrate humor as a therapeutic tool while exploring depth psychological approaches to healing
• Jungian analysts and depth psychology practitioners interested in examining the archetypal dimensions of humor, the transcendent function, and how comedy reveals fundamental aspects of the unconscious
• Educators, coaches, and workshop leaders who want to understand how humor, play, and the tension of opposites can be applied as strategies for creativity, perspective-shifting, and transformative learning
• Performers, artists, and creative professionals (particularly actors, directors, and clowns) seeking to deepen their understanding of comedic archetypes, clown practice, and the psychological underpinnings of humor in performance
• Lifelong learners and humanities scholars curious about the philosophical and cultural dimensions of humor, its historical dismissal in Western thought, and its role as both medicine and social commentary

Recommended reading

• Bayes, C. (2019). Discovering the Clown, or The Funny Book of Good Acting. Theatre Communications Group.
• Brown, S. L., & Vaughan, C. C. (2010). Play : how it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and invigorates the soul. Scribe.
• Eberle, G. (2001, August). A Child of Providence. Parabola: The Fool, 26(3), 66–71.
• Hyde, L. (2010). Trickster Makes This World. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Jung, C. G. (1959). Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious. In W. Mcguire (Ed.), The Archetypes and the Collective Unconcious (pp. 3–41). Princeton University Press.
• Jung, C. G. (1989). Confrontation with the Unconscious. In A. Jaffe (Ed.), Memories, Dreams, Reflections (pp. 170–199). Random House.
• Jung, C. G. (1988). The Structure of the Psyche. In W. McGuire (Ed.), The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche (pp. 139–158). Princeton University Press.
• Luke, H. (2000, November). The Laughter at the Heart of things. Parabola: The Sense of Humor, 12(4), 6–17.
• McGraw, P., & Warner, J. (2014). Colorado: the set up. In The Humor Code (pp. 1–15). Simon & Schuster.
• Meeker, J. (1996). The Comic Mode. In H. Fromm (Ed.), The Ecocriticism reader (pp. 155–169). University of Georgia Press.
• Miller, J. C. (2012). The Transcendent Function. State University of New York Press.
• Morreall, J. (2012, November 20). Philosophy of Humor (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford.edu. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/

*Please note: Because these courses are designed as interactive, experiential journeys, live attendance is required to qualify for the microcredential.