The Renaissance is famous for its writers of comedy (Rabelais, Shakespeare, Cervantes), but in terms of a philosophy of humor it has been classified as interested largely in satire, vilification, and derision. This article proposes instead that philosophers such as Erasmus of Rotterdam, Thomas More, and Robert Burton develop original ideas about humor in relation to emotion, pleasure, and “peace of mind.” While drawing on the classical traditions of rhetoric and medicine in analyzing humor, they make a positive case for humor in philosophical terms.