Aristotle insisted that we laugh at the ugly or the stupid to express the joy we feel that we're better than them. Socrates added that we also laugh at those who are delusional about their own abilities, because we flatter ourselves that we're more clear-sighted. Thomas Hobbes claimed that laughter was a moment of "glory," in which we feel ourselves to be above other people."
There's definitely a ring of truth to it. As Mel Brooks said, "Tragedy is when I get a paper cut. Comedy is when you fall into a sewer and die."
But I don't feel comfortable endorsing this theory. Perhaps its because I frequently make jokes and try to laugh as much as I can...I'd rather not believe I do so because I'm a snooty egomaniac.
A bigger issue for me is that it doesn't fit with the standup comedians I've read about. Without fail, every standup comedian who has ever lived has both a superiority and an inferiority complex. The superiority complex allows them to mock others, and help us feel better about themselves. But the superiority complex isn't enough.
For example, how many famous comedians came from millionaire families? Jerry Seinfeld, for example, was the son of a sign-maker and grew up on Long Island. Adam Sandler's parents were an electrical engineer and a kindergarten teacher.
It is their inferiority complex, the need for approval and attention, that drives standup comedians to tackle their terrifying, exhausting, and largely unremunerative calling.
The truly superior shouldn't feel the need to flaunt it; it's their secret sense of inferiority that drives them to do so.