Developing Conceptions of Humour - Irony and Internet Memes

Aug 26, 2026

Developing Conceptions of Humour examines internet memes through a philosophy-of-humour lens, focusing on irony and laughter mechanisms rather than memetics alone. The work clarifies what “meme” means in everyday internet usage, contrasts it with a Dawkinsian meme, and develops a pragmatic typology of meme kinds. Memes are then analysed with multiple humour theories, including historical and contemporary approaches, to evaluate which analytical tools best explain how laughter is produced and what limitations remain.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Memes beyond memetics – the post-Dawkinsian meme

Kinds of memes – a pragmatic typology

On laughter – a brief critical and historical overview

LeRire and interrelations of theories of humour

Bergson’s tools for analysing humour

Contemporary counterparts and the tools they offer

A multi-layered analysis of different types of memes

Closing remarks on irony, memes, and our attempts to theorise

Bibliography

Developing Conceptions of Humour: Irony and Internet Memes By Raoul Titulaer “Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the purely scientific mind.” -E.B. White Table of Contents 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………p.3 2. Memes beyond memetics – the post-Dawkinsian meme…………………….p.4 3. Kinds of memes – a pragmatic typology……………………………………..p.6 4. On laughter – a brief critical and historical overview………………………p.12 5. LeRire and interrelations of theories of humour……………………………p.14 6. Bergson’s tools for analysing humour………………………………………..p.17 7. Contemporary counterparts and the tools they offer……………………….p.19 8. A multi-layered analysis of different types of memes……………………….p.22 9. Closing remarks on irony, memes, and our attempts to theorise………..…p.27 10. Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...p.28 1. Introduction Through my early adolescence up until now, I have often been confronted with and amused by memes. I want to clarify that I do not mean this in the sense of pertaining to the field of memetics as Richard Dawkins coined the term in The Selfish Gene (1976), but in its common usage: referring, bluntly, to a funny picture on the internet. What always intrigued me about them is not just the amusement they provided, but the fact that this amusement came seemingly out of nowhere, often leaving me confounded about why I was laughing this much. Some examples of memes that I will consider in this thesis include cats that act like humans, symptoms of being scrambled, and a favourable comparison of anti-nataliststo people who have children. I would like to delve further into the following questions: What is an internet meme and how does it differ from a Dawkinsian meme? What kinds of memes are there and what mechanisms do they rely on to elicit laughter from us? To try and answer these questions, I will examine the history of the word meme and how its usage has developed, after which I will explicate the word meme and how I will be using it. I will then develop a pragmatic typology of memes based on the explication I have formulated. These types will later be analysed in terms of several theories of humour. To situate the theories of humour that I will be discussing, I will briefly summarise the history of humour theorising in general. I will then turn my attention to the earliest philosophical work entirely dedicated to laughter: Henri Bergson’s ‘Le Rire’(Laughter), a classical interpretation of laughter first published in 1900. In On Laughter, the case studies and examples are mainly comprised of satirical writing, theatrical comedies and farces. I will compare this conception of laughter and humour to some other interpretations and theories of laughter, like superiority theory, incongruity theory, and benign violation theory. I will then break these theories down into their constituent parts, forming some tools I can use for analysing memes. I will try and see which tools are most effective for analysing the humorous component of memes and posit some changes to existing theories if and where necessary. At the end, I will point out the faults in these theories that became apparent through my research and discuss the implications of my findings for the philosophy of humour in general. I would like to add as a disclaimer that I do not endorse any of the content shown in the memes I have chosen; they are chosen purely for pragmatic reasons to make a point about the philosophy of humour. 2. Memes beyond memetics – the post-Dawkinsian meme Since Richard Dawkins coined the term in 1976, subsequently spawning the controversial anthropological field of memetics, the word has acquired a new meaning in popular culture, but let us first take a look at its origins. Etymologically, its roots can be found in the Greek word mimesis, meaning imitation. The idea was to describe a unit of non-genetic information that is passed on th

FAQs

How does the thesis define “internet meme” compared with a Dawkinsian meme?

It distinguishes common internet usage—typically a funny picture—from the Dawkinsian concept of a hypothetical unit of cultural information from memetics.

What kinds of memes does the thesis develop for analysis?

It proposes a pragmatic typology by first explicating what memes are and then categorizing meme kinds based on the mechanisms they use to elicit laughter.

Which humour theories are used to analyse memes?

The analysis incorporates historical perspectives and compares Bergson’s Le Rire with approaches such as superiority theory, incongruity theory, and benign violation theory.

Aug 26, 2026

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