Here's (another) SA article[1] that seems to somewhat counter the claims found here; namely, that joy, laughter, and humor are not "culturally adapted" but built into our neural correlates. This is a famous (and ground-breaking) study conducted by Jaak Panksepp[2].
Maybe smiling is culturally-specific, but laughter certainly isn't. I'm not sure if there's much of a difference between the two -- to me it seems to be a difference of intensity (of emotion) and not a difference in kind.
Maybe smiling is culturally-specific, but laughter certainly isn't. I'm not sure if there's much of a difference between the two -- to me it seems to be a difference of intensity (of emotion) and not a difference in kind.
[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rats-laugh-but-no...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaak_Panksepp