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Arieti reviews the literature on wit and adds to it his own theories of the 'paleologic', a logic which antedates Aristotelian logic and is in essence an archaic, more elastic and complaisant system of logic which permits interpretation of reality in accordance with one's wishes. This is used by psychotics in dreams as well as in wit and the comic. Paleologic thinking permits a choice of predicates out of numerous possible ones and may lead to deductions which are gratifying for the individual. Also there is emphasis on denotation and verbalization with reduction in connotation giving rise to extreme literalness.
Examples are given of wit wherein two concepts are identified because they have the same verbalization; where denial of a statement is the assertion of its opposite; where repression and gratification occur simultaneously—especially in relation to sexuality and hostility, human frailty and man's inadequacy. Representation through the opposite confers charm and beauty on a joke; condensation lends significance to jokes. These are due to paleologic identification or compositions.