How did Henri Bergson describe laughter as a social corrective?

In his essay Laughter, the French philosopher Henri Bergson posited that laughter functions as a social corrective—a form of punishment inflicted by society upon individuals who fail to adapt to social norms.12

Bergson argued that the comic arises when something mechanical is "encrusted" upon the living, such as when a person acts automatically, exhibits systematic absentmindedness, or becomes unsociable by failing to engage with their fellow beings. Because such behavior threatens the cohesion of the group, laughter serves to "wake" the individual from their dream of isolation and repress their tendency to break away from social conventions.1

By focusing on general human peculiarities rather than specific individuals, comedy ensures that this corrective influence reaches as many people as possible. Ultimately, Bergson viewed laughter as a mechanism with an "unavowed intention to humiliate and consequently to correct our neighbour," thereby compelling the individual to remain attentive to the demands of society and the strain of living.12