Una filosofía de la risa

We have the democratic irony of Socrates, the atomistic laughter of Democritus, the savage mockery of Diogenes, the all-consuming derision of Lucian, the courageous sarcasm of Christine de Pizan, the humanist humor of Montaigne, the wild laughter of Shakespeare, the tender irony of Cervantes, the mischievous wit of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the dry wit of Jane Austen, the holy laughter of Nietzsche, the tears of Joyce, the paradoxes of Chesterton, and the reductions to absurdity of Borges. But if comedy, in its many forms, and humor, which is its quintessence, have been so important throughout history, why do we give them so little importance?