Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-05-11
Accounting for mumor on Darwinian rrIn-
From Tho Evolution OF Humor," by Protessso
:. II. Butcher. LID, in Hsrper's Magazine ~
Nav


From The Evolution OF Humor,n by Professor
=. II. Butcher, LID, In Hsrper's Magazine ioi
May
How are We, on strict Darwinian princic
pies, 10 account for the development Vt
that kind Of humor which is unmixed Win
malice! II is hardly satisfactory to say
that the faculty Of seeing the ludicrous III
things adds 20 the JOY of the community,
heigbtcns its vitality by releasing q surplus
fund Of energy, and so indn cctly increases
the active powers Of that tribe or peoples
which has cultivated it. and the chances %
their success in the struggle for exls'gLoc'
That might be true as applied 10 ourseInnnns'
but hardly as applied to early man. nc
pure ludicrOus entered, indeed, Dut en-
tered rarely and as a slight ingredient into
his anxious existence. There must INV
been far too little scope and occasion 1oI ~
TO admit of its adding appreclably 10 Fllai
emery. In short. evolutionary theory. IN
the form in which it Is commonly set lor'h
by its scientific exponents-that Is rs
mechanical, not a theological system ial lls
10 account for the origin OF non-mallcIou5
humor. II cannot point to any precise emu
served in it's undcyeloped forms. Recent
morphologicai inquiry has curious DeaiIhg
on this point. Biologists have iateiy oeen
busy discussing the meaning OF ceitalu ~
gan. 10 which in the present stage OF IT'S de-
.
auv utilitarian value. The case allude 20
is the electric organ i'll the tail OF the
skate. on which Professor Cossar Ewart
read n paper before the Royal Society
| (Phl frdns.. Volume LXXIX). Other
aquatic animals which possess such organs
use them to advantage a. electric batteries
against their foes. But the electric organ
| Of the skate. though most complicated
mechanism, q structure rs elaborate as any
/ -. Il Ii To De OF
! no benefit whatever to its pOssessor. Inc
| electricity which is capable of generating
| and discbarging Is 70 slight that II cannot
| he felt bv the human hand. and Is
only audible in the telephone. This
| imperceptible shock can scarcely DE
| conceived as serving any purpose Oh de-
| fence. Various convincing reasons are
brought 20 prove that the organ IS not IN
| process of degeneration, but in process OF
| evolution. If, then. this complex and
| highly specialized mechanism still remains
| without a functional u2e. all tho greater Is
| the difficulty OF cOnceiving how II can
! have aided the survival of the tittest IN
| the earlier stages of its growth. IT points,
| il would seem, to something beyond itself
| from which it derives its meaning; II APP
pears to be prophetic Of tho future.
established il would lead to pro-
found modification Of the current the
ory of evolution. If, instead of say
ing that everything must have had use,
or il could not have come into being.
science has to say that everything must
have had at least a prospective use, the
whole philosophy of evolution will be
altered. Now, evolution has, as it fancies;
satisfactorily accounted for the growth and
development Of most of the faculties OF
the human mind. But it has not been
able 90 explain the sense of the ludI-
crous, except on the disproved assump-
ton that il is in all cases malignant
in origin. On this subject the evolu-
tionists may still have something more to
say. Meanwhile, looking TO the mental
facts as we find them and accepting as
provisional hypothesis the scientific con-
illusions above referred TO, we may suggest
that the perception of the pure ludicrous.
or non-maliciOus humor, in primitive man
resembles the action of the immature cleo
trlc organ. which is rs yet of no practical
utility TO its possessor, but whose meaning
and value are prospective, and which Will
some day justify its own existence.