Henri Bergson was an early 20th century French philosopher. Bergson's essay on laughter states that laughter is an intellectual response. We laugh because we feel uncomfortable when the unexpected occurs. When in a situation over which we have no control occurs, laughter is a release. We laugh when someone falls on a banana peel. We laugh when someone has toilet paper stuck to his or her shoe. Neither of these is particularly funny, but we laugh | Laughter an Essay on the Meaning of the Comic by Henri Louis Bergson, Paperback | Indigo Chapters