Topic :Expain Aristotal 'S theory of catharsis
Name :Nasim r. Gaha
Enrollment no :2069108420190014
M. A: sem- 1
Yer :2018-2020
Email id:
gahanasim786@gmail.com
Paper no: 3 ( literary theory and criticism westrn-1)
Submitted To: smt. S. B. Gardi Department of mharaja krishkumarshihji
Bhavna. University
Introduction
Aristotle (/ˈærɪˌstɒtəl/;[3] Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης Aristotélēs,
pronounced [aristotélɛːs]; 384–322 BC)[n 1] was an ancient Greek philosopher
and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidiki, in the north of
Classical Greece. Along with Plato, he is considered the "Father of
Western Philosophy". Aristotle provided a complex and harmonious synthesis
of the various existing philosophies prior to him, including those of Socrates
and Plato, and it was above all from his teachings that the West inherited its
fundamental intellectual lexicon, as well as problems and methods of inquiry.
As a result, his philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost every form
of knowledge in the West and it continues to be central to the contemporary
philosophical discussion.
Like many important
documents in the history of philosophy and literary theory, Aristotle's
Poetics, composed around 330 BCE, was most likely preserved in the form of
students' lecture notes. This brief text, through its various interpretations
and applications from the Renaissance onward, has had a profound impact on
Western aesthetic philosophy and artistic production.
The Poetics is in part Aristotle's response to his teacher,
Plato, who argues in The Republic that poetry is representation of mere
appearances and is thus misleading and morally suspect. Aristotle's approach to
the phenomenon of poetry is quite different from Plato's. Fascinated by the
intellectual challenge of forming categories and organizing them into coherent
systems, Aristotle approaches literary texts as a natural scientist, carefully
accounting for the features of each "species" of text. Rather than
concluding that poets should be banished from the perfect society, as does
Plato, Aristotle attempts to describe the social function, and the ethical
utility, of art.
It is important to remember that Aristotle, and the Greek
world as a whole, viewed art as essentially representational. Although we
certainly have examples of Greek patterns and decorations that are
"abstract," nothing indicates that the Greeks recognized such a
category as "abstract art."
One of the most difficult concepts introduced in the Poetics
is catharsis, a word which has come into everyday language even though scholars
are still debating its actual meaning in Aristotle's text. Catharsis is most
often defined as the "purging" of the emotions of pity and fear that
occurs when we watch a tragedy. What is actually involved in this purging is
not clear. It is not as simple as getting an object lesson in how to behave;
the tragic event does not "teach us a lesson" as do certain
public-information campaigns on drunk driving or drug abuse. Hans-Georg
Gadamer's attempt to describe catharsis in his study Truth and Method can serve
both as a working definition and an introduction into the problem of
establishing any determinate definition of this elusive concept:
What is experienced in such an excess of tragic suffering is
something truly common. The spectator recognizes himself [or herself] and his
[or her] finiteness in the face of the power of fate. What happens to the great
ones of the earth has exemplary significance. . . .To see that "this is
how it is" is a kind of self-knowledge for the spectator, who emerges with
new insight from the illusions in which he [or she], like everyone else, lives.
(132)
The practical and formal concerns that occupy Aristotle in
the Poetics need to be understood in relation to a larger concern with the
psychological and social purpose of literature. Criticism, according to
Aristotle, should not be simply the application of unexamined aesthetic
principles, but should pay careful attention to the overall function of a any
feature of a work of art in its context within the work, and should never lose
sight of the function of the work of art in its social context.
The guide provided here takes you through each of the
twenty-six books of the Poetics and attempts to give a summary of Aristotle's
arguments. This resource should not be used as a substitute for a careful
reading of Aristotle's text, but might help you to review and clarify your
understanding of the terms, concepts, categories, and interrelationships that
Aristotle introduces.
Texts quoted in this resource:
Forster, E. M. Aspects of the Novel. New York: Harcourt,
Brace, Jovanovich, 1955.
Gadamer, Hans-Georg. Truth and Method. Revised translation
Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall. New York: Continuu
Catharsis is the Greek word for cleansing and is used in
psychology to explain the process of rapidly releasing negative emotions. In
this lesson, you will learn about catharsis theory and take a quiz.
Definition of Catharsis
Catharsis is the process of venting aggression as a way to
release or get rid of emotions. Have you ever been so angry that you went
outside and yelled or hit a pillow? Psychologists call this method catharsis.
You may have heard someone say something was 'cathartic,' meaning it released
emotion. For example, if you are angry you might hit something or scream, and
that might make you feel better.
Theory
The thought behind catharsis theory is that feelings build
up and create pressure if not vented, in the same way air builds up in a
balloon until it bursts. Releasing emotions decreases the pressure or tension
in the person so they have fewer negative emotions and are less aggressive.
Sigmund Freud was the first to use catharsis theory in
psychological therapy, although he gave up on cathartic therapy and spent more
time on psychoanalysis. The theory states that expressing or getting out one's
aggression and anger should reduce the feeling of aggression.
The bulk of research on catharsis theory hasn't done much to
back it up. Venting aggression does not appear to reduce future aggression. In
fact, it might actually make a person angrier. Studies have demonstrated that
expressing anger created more anger or hostility when compared to groups that
were not permitted to express anger. Despite the opposing evidence, many people
still do believe aggression reduces frustration and future aggression.
In therapy settings, catharsis is more than just venting
anger. Instead, it's a re-experiencing of a traumatic event and expressing the
strong emotions that are associated with them. Therapies that emphasize
emotions, such as Gestalt therapy, create role-play simulations to facilitate
safe expression of emotions.
Examples of Catharsis
Though little research has supported the efficacy of
catharsis, here are some examples of it being put into practice, some of which
you might even find familiar:
Aristotle writes that the function of tragedy is to arouse
the emotions of pity and fear, and to affect the Katharsis of these emotions.
Aristotle has used the term Katharsis only once, but no phrase has been handled
so frequently by critics, and poets. Aristotle has not explained what exactly
he meant by the word, nor do we get any help from the Poetics. For this reason,
help and guidance has to be taken from his other works. Further, Katharsis has
three meaning. It means ‘purgation’, ‘purification’, and ‘clarification’, and
each critic has used the word in one or the other senses. All agree that
Tragedy arouses fear and pity, but there are sharp differences as to the
process, the way by which the rousing of these emotions gives pleasure.
Katharsis has been taken as a medical metaphor, ‘purgation’,
denoting a pathological effect on the soul similar to the effect of medicine on
the body. This view is borne out by a passage in the Politics where Aristotle
refers to religious frenzy being cured by certain tunes which excite religious
frenzy. In Tragedy:
“…pity and fear, artificially stirred the latent pity and
fear which we bring with us from real life.”
In the Neo-Classical era, Catharsis was taken to be an
allopathic treatment with the unlike curing unlike. The arousing of pity and
fear was supposed to bring about the purgation or ‘evacuation’ of other
emotions, like anger, pride etc. As Thomas Taylor holds:
“We learn from the terrible fates of evil men to avoid the
vices they manifest.”
F. L. Lucas rejects the idea that Katharsis is a medical
metaphor, and says that:
“The theatre is not a hospital.”
Both Lucas and Herbert Reed regard it as a kind of safety
valve. Pity and fear are aroused, we give free play to these emotions which is
followed by emotional relief. I. A. Richards’ approach to the process is also
psychological. Fear is the impulse to withdraw and pity is the impulse to
approach. Both these impulses are harmonized and blended in tragedy and this
balance brings relief and repose.
The ethical interpretation is that the tragic process is a
kind of lustration of the soul, an inner illumination resulting in a more
balanced attitude to life and its suffering. Thus John Gassner says that a clear
understanding of what was involved in the struggle, of cause and effect, a
judgment on what we have witnessed, can result in a state of mental equilibrium
and rest, and can ensure complete aesthetic pleasure. Tragedy makes us realize
that divine law operates in the universe, shaping everything for the best.
During the Renaissance, another set of critics suggested
that Tragedy helped to harden or ‘temper’ the emotions. Spectators are hardened
to the pitiable and fearful events of life by witnessing them in tragedies.
Humphrey House rejects the idea of ‘purgation’ and
forcefully advocates the ‘purification’ theory which involves moral instruction
and learning. It is a kind of ‘moral conditioning’. He points out that,
‘purgation means cleansing’.
According to ‘the purification’ theory, Katharsis implies
that our emotions are purified of excess and defect, are reduced to
intermediate state, trained and directed towards the right objects at the right
time. The spectator learns the proper use of pity, fear and similar emotions by
witnessing tragedy. Butcher writes:
“The tragic Katharsis involves not only the idea of
emotional relief, but the further idea of purifying the emotions so relieved.”
The basic defect of ‘purgation’ theory and ‘purification’ theory
is that they are too much occupied with the psychology of the audience.
Aristotle was writing a treatise not on psychology but on the art of poetry. He
relates ‘Catharsis’ not to the emotions of the spectators but to the incidents
which form the plot of the tragedy. And the result is the “clarification”
theory.
The paradox of pleasure being aroused by the ugly and the
repellent is also the paradox involved in tragedy. Tragic incidents are
pitiable and fearful.
They include horrible events as a man blinding himself, a
wife murdering her husband or a mother slaying her children and instead of
repelling us produce pleasure. Aristotle clearly tells us that we should not
seek for every pleasure from tragedy, “but only the pleasure proper to it”.
‘Catharsis’ refers to the tragic variety of pleasure. The Catharsis clause is
thus a definition of the function of tragedy, and not of its emotional effects
on the audience.
Imitation does not produce pleasure in general, but only the
pleasure that comes from learning, and so also the peculiar pleasure of
tragedy. Learning comes from discovering the relation between the action and
the universal elements embodied in it. The poet might take his material from
history or tradition, but he selects and orders it in terms of probability and
necessity, and represents what, “might be”. He rises from the particular to the
general and so is more universal and more philosophical. The events are
presented free of chance and accidents which obscure their real meaning.
Tragedy enhances understanding and leaves the spectator ‘face to face with the
universal law’.
Thus according to this interpretation, ‘Catharsis’ means
clarification of the essential and universal significance of the incidents
depicted, leading to an enhanced understanding of the universal law which
governs human life and destiny, and such an understating leads to pleasure of
tragedy. In this view, Catharsis is neither a medical, nor a religious or moral
term, but an intellectual term. The term refers to the incidents depicted in
the tragedy and the way in which the poet reveals their universal significance.
The clarification theory has many merits. Firstly, it is a
technique of the tragedy and not to the psychology of the audience. Secondly,
the theory is based on what Aristotle says in the Poetics, and needs no help
and support of what Aristotle has said in Politics and Ethics. Thirdly, it
relates Catharsis both to the theory of imitation and to the discussion of
probability and necessity. Fourthly, the theory is perfectly in accord with
current aesthetic theories.
According to Aristotle the basic tragic emotions are pity
and fear and are painful. If tragedy is to give pleasure, the pity and fear
must somehow be eliminated. Fear is aroused when we see someone suffering and
think that similar fate might befall us. Pity is a feeling of pain caused by
the sight of underserved suffering of others. The spectator sees that it is the
tragic error or Hamartia of the hero which results in suffering and so he
learns something about the universal relation between character and destiny.
To conclude, Aristotle's conception of Catharsis is mainly
intellectual. It is neither didactic nor theoretical, though it may have a
residual theological element. Aristotle's Catharsis is not a moral doctrine
requiring the tragic poet to show that bad men come to bad ends, nor a kind of
theological relief arising from discovery that God’s laws operate invisibly to
make all things work
Aristotle’s conception of ‘Catharsis’ is purely intellectual.
It is neither didactic nor theological nor is it a moral doctrine. Read More
Criticism Aristotle lays it down that Tragedy at all times makes its appeal
through emotions- through pity and fear. It can succeed only when it arouses
the pity and fear proper to it. The doctrine of Catharsis has been interpreted
in many ways. Since ‘Catharsis’ is a Greek word, and every language has its own
nature, its own Grammar, and since every word of every language has its own
syntax and meaning, the debate over the meaning of ‘Catharsis’ will continue.‘Catharsis’
is a Greek word. It means “purgation”, “purification” and “clarification”. It
has been used only once by Aristotle in his ‘Poetics’ while defining Tragedy,
“Tragedy then is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a
certain magnitude through pity and fear effecting the proper ‘Catharsis’ of
these emotions” Based on the three meanings of the word, ‘Catharsis’ different
theories have been evolved to explain Aristotle’s conception of tragic ‘Catharsis.
Read More Criticism
Catharsis" before tragedy Edit
Catharsis before the sixth-century rise of tragedy is, for
the Western World, essentially a historical footnote to the Aristotelian
conception. The practice of purification had not yet appeared in Homer, as
later Greek commentators noted:[17] the Aithiopis, an epic set in the Trojan
War cycle, narrates the purification of Achilles after his murder of Thersites.
Catharsis describes the result of measures taken to cleanse away
blood-guilt—"blood is purified through blood",[18] a process in the
development of Hellenistic culture in which the oracle of Delphi took a
prominent role. The classic example—Orestes—belongs to tragedy, but the
procedure given by Aeschylus is ancient: the blood of a sacrificed piglet is
allowed to wash over the blood-polluted man, and running water washes away the
blood.[19] The identical ritual is represented, Burkert informs us, on a krater
found at Canicattini, wherein it is shown being employed to cure the daughters
of Proetus from their madness, caused by some ritual transgression.[20] To the
question of whether the ritual obtains atonement for the subject, or just
healing, Burkert answers: "To raise the question is to see the irrelevance
of this distinction".[20]
Social catharsis
Emotional situations can elicit physiological, behavioral,
cognitive, expressive, and subjective changes in individuals. Affected
individuals often use social sharing as a cathartic release of emotions.
Bernard Rimé studies the patterns of social sharing after emotional
experiences. His works suggest that individuals seek social outlets in an
attempt to modify the situation and restore personal homeostatic balance.
Rimé found that 80–95% of emotional episodes are shared. The
affected individuals talk about the emotional experience recurrently to people
around them throughout the following hours, days, or weeks. These results
indicate that this response is irrespective of emotional valence, gender,
education, and culture. His studies also found that social sharing of emotion
increases as the intensity of the emotion increases.
1) Positive emotion
A study by Langston[32] found that individuals share
positive events to capitalize on the positive emotions they elicit. Reminiscing
the positive experience augments positive affects like temporary mood and
longer-term well-being. A study by Gable et al.[33] confirmed Langston's
"capitalization" theory by demonstrating that relationship quality is
enhanced when partners are responsive to positive recollections. The
responsiveness increased levels of intimacy and satisfaction within the
relationship. In general, the motives behind social sharing of positive events
are to recall the positive emotions, inform others, and gain attention from
others. All three motives are representatives of capitalization.
(2) Negative emotion
Rimé studies suggest that the motives behind social sharing
of negative emotions are to vent, understand, bond, and gain social support.
Negatively affected individuals often seek life meaning and emotional support
to combat feelings of loneliness after a tragic event.
Collective catharsis
Collective emotional events share similar responses. When
communities are affected by an emotional event, members repetitively share
emotional experiences. After the 2001 New York and the 2004 Madrid terrorist
attacks, more than 80% of respondents shared their emotional experience with
others.[34] According to Rimé, every sharing round elicits emotional
reactivation in the sender and the receiver. This then reactivates the need to
share in both. Social sharing throughout the community leads to high amounts of
emotional recollection and "emotional overheating".
Pennebaker and Harber[35] defined three stages of collective
responses to emotional events.
In the first stage, a state of "emergency" takes
place in the first month after the emotional event. In this stage, there is an
abundance of thoughts, talks, media coverage, and social integration based on
the event.
In the second stage, the "plateau" occurs in the
second month. Abundant thoughts remain, but the amount of talks, media
coverage, and social integration decreases.
In the third stage, the "extinction" occurs after
the second month. There is a return to normalcy.
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