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Pharmaco-gelotology

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Therapy of Social Medicine

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Abstract

Facial improvement was particularly emphasized as the last method of the four major SM therapies in this book. Since the “beautiful laughter (BL)” promises one’s health including body as well as mind in humans, it includes even enforced laughing. Thus, pharmaco-gelotology was newly defined as the new field studying BL in pharmacy for the purpose of making facial improvement toward healthy life and happiness.

Theoretically, definitions and conditions of laughter were examined and then laughter was categorized and classified by health. In addition, classical theories of laughter were analyzed to compare together through the historical review as follows: superiority theory, incongruity theory, and relief theory.

On the other hand, the eighteenth-century sentimentalism made a paradigm shift from ridicule-oriented laughter to humor-oriented laughter. As a result, Freud’s humor was a superego kind, while Deleuze’s humor was a meaningless case.

After the history of laughter therapy was reviewed, physical, psychological, physiological, and emotional effects of the fast-defusing laughter therapy in the world were investigated systematically.

Finally, a case of laughter therapy officially accepted and used in a domestic university hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, in Korea was introduced.

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  1. Independent Scholar, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Byong-Hyon Han

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Han, BH. (2016). Pharmaco-gelotology. In: Therapy of Social Medicine. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-748-2_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-748-2_4

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