If you want to make something not funny, teach a philosophy course about it.

That’s where you might learn, for example, that while Kant and Kierkegaard might regard “social incongruity” as the determinant of whether something’s amusing, Hobbes and Plato believed a sense of superiority to others is the keystone of mirth. And don’t forget Freud and Herbert Spencer, who subscribed to the idea that humor is a way to release energy stockpiled by repression.

Laugh it up!

Maybe it’s more entertaining to ask the brilliant stand-up comedian Brian Regan about the nature of comedy. A longtime headliner with numerous successful videos to his credit, Regan has, over a 32-year career, established a reputation for a clean observational act in which he’s a self-deprecating as he can also savage our culture’s tendency to behave … well, idiotically.

“There’s humor in everything,” says Regan, on the phone last week from his Las Vegas home before leaving on a tour that brings him tonight to the Garde Arts Center in New London. “I think I still laugh at a lot of the same things I did when I was young. I like silliness in general and I like well-crafted jokes. But there’s humor in everything.”

Despite maintaining a consistent stylistic formula, he’s also quick to acknowledge that, even working clean, the controversies, violence and anger going on in the country and the world can affect his jokes and routines.

Dark times

“It’s interesting, and it makes sense that, in the past few years, I’ve gotten into some things onstage that do resonate and reflect what’s going on,” Regan says. “For example, I talk about guns. I’m sure there are people (in the audience) who are put off; I’m sure someone may have lost someone to a gun. It’s not my intention to hurt anybody, but at the same time I don’t censor myself and I think it’s important to have provocative material.”

Offstage, particularly among friends in the comedy world, Regan’s own demeanor and jokes are more profane and edgy, particularly in response to tragedy.

“After every dark event, dark humor comes out,” Regan says. “It’s a coping mechanism and people explore that to various degrees. I remember when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. I met someone who said he’d never laugh at a space shuttle joke.

“I remember thinking, ‘But … what if it’s funny? Are you not allowed?’ It was intriguing that someone would or could draw a line on whether they would laugh. Can you even control that impulse?”

Comedians, cars and peach schnapps

The nature of comedy is also something Regan has talked about as a two-time guest on Jerry Seinfeld’s popular and innovative “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” series. Regan was flattered by the invitations — certainly just one big indicator that Regan had “arrived” at the top of the standup echelon — but mostly remembers the automobile part of the experiences.

“Jerry was going to pick me up and I guess part of the show is that, the first time, the guest picks the car,” Regan says. “I didn’t know anything about cars, and I wanted to impress him. I chose a Cadillac XLR. It didn’t seem to rank high with him.”

He explains that a lot of the cars used on the show come from Seinfeld’s own expansive collection. But, based on Seinfeld’s not-enthusiastic reaction to the XLR, Regan says, “My guess is he went to a Cadillac dealer to borrow one for the day.” He laughs. “And, you know, the format of the show is that Jerry talks about the car before the guest comes on, and there he was, slamming this free car!”

Regan is asked if he still indulges in his long-standing pre-show custom — to wit, a shot of peach schnapps.

“For some reason, I stopped two years ago,” he says with a tone that connotes a fond remembrance of schnapps past. “Yeah, that was my pre-show ritual. I like the taste and there’s not too much alcohol.” He laughs again and recalls the time his tour manager came backstage before a performance with the requested schnapps. The price tag was still on the small bottle. It cost five dollars.

“Someone working in the venue said, ‘Hey, do you know that, when (comedian) Ron White comes through, he gets a $500 bottle of scotch?’ I said to my tour manager, ‘Is it too late to get a $10 bottle of schnapps?”

The science of material

As with most comedians, and unlike bands or musicians, Regan rarely repeats even his “greatest hits” routines onstage. He describes a pattern of two-year cycles wherein he’ll write new material, take the show on the road and then release a network special of the tour. Regan’s specials include the popular Netflix specials “Nunchucks and Flamethrowers,” “Standup and Away With Brian Regan” (both produced by Seinfeld) and his most recent, 2021’s “On the Rocks.” Then the process starts again.

Perhaps surprisingly, Regan doesn’t spend much time watching footage of old tours or appearances on late night talk shows. But recent trends in marketing mean that he has reacquainted himself with routines of yore.

The iconic ironing board

“A lot of comics have been putting stuff out on social media, and my guy in charge of that started doing it, too,” Regan says. “So he’d run it by me to look at, and I saw stuff I haven’t thought of in years. I’m not patting myself on the back, but every once in a while, I’ll say, ‘Hey, that’s pretty good!’”

When asked if any of those old jokes particularly stands out, Regan says, “One bit in particular, the ironing board routine, is pretty solid. It makes a point and goes through a few shifts.”

The bit — which is exceedingly popular with fans — imagines a scenario wherein the inventor of the ironing board tried to get approved by modern day safety inspectors. The inventor — Regan in hilarious earnest/clueless mode — explains the features of the device point by point: two wobbly crisscross legs precariously supporting a flat surface and “a hot metal thing with water the temperature of lava oozing out the sides and dripping off the board for burn wounds. And I want one side to be flat and a white-hot heat for scarring, and I want it to be heavy for blunt force trauma — and I want the whole thing to come to a point for puncture wounds …”

Thespian possibilities

Those who’ve seen Regan know he’s fantastic with characterization and has a signature onstage rhythm that’s distinctly different from the “stalk from side to side” patterns many comics employ. It also explains why that theatrical charisma eventually scored Regan a role in director Peter Farrelly’s dark comedy series “Loudermilk.”

Airing for three seasons so far on the AT&T network, “Loudermilk” stars Ron Livingston as the titular substance abuse counselor. Regan plays Mugsy, a regular attendee of the support group Loudermilk oversees, and is a character whose role in the ensemble has grown with each episode. The opportunity to inhabit and evolve a character has resonated with Regan, who’s come close to movie and TV projects before without much success other than a small part in the 2014 Chris Rock film “Top Five.”

“I’ve been happy to have the opportunity to see if I can act,” Regan says. “I’ve never really had a lot of chances. Chris Rock was nice enough to let me be in ‘Top Five.’ Then Peter Farrelly approached me about ‘Loudermilk.’ The first season, I had one storyline in one episode out of 10 – and I was happy to have it.

“There were more opportunities in the second season, and then the third season just exploded. I saw the Season Three scripts in advance and I thought, ‘Did they really write this for me? Can I even do this?’ I was so happy to have pulled it off.”

He laughs. “But Hollywood doesn’t seem to care. I’d like to have other chances but nothing so far. It’s a very weird business. The good thing? I’ve already got a pretty fun job.”

If you go

Who: Comedian Brian Regan

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London

How much: $42-$71

For more information: gardearts.org, (860) 444-7373