CATharsis - what is it? Catharsis in philosophy and psychology

What does catharsis mean?

What catharsis means depends on the aspect in which the term is used. As a rule, it denotes the process of cleansing negative emotions. The concept was proposed by Aristotle in his work Poetics. The main characters were in a state of internal purification, which is aimed at achieving harmony of soul and body. In various teachings and practices, it was mentioned by many philosophers, psychologists and psychoanalysts.

Completion of the catharsis process involves the release of psychic energy or repressed affect. The process of catharsis consists of the following stages and, depending on the situation, a person must be able to control himself:

• accumulation of negative experiences;
• reaching the peak of emotions;
• transforming negative energy into positive.

Meaning of the word catharsis

The legend of the innocent merchant is a catharsis according to Tolstoy, a catharsis that allows existence for Platon Karataev.

Accordingly, I will not say that, unfortunately, the author of “Blue Fat” probably did not hear Bryullov’s words about art (everything depends on “a little bit”!), and the writer Sorokin, apparently, was unaware that in literature the most powerful effect on the reader is HOMEOPATHIC (which, by the way, is why I don’t like Dostoevsky - it’s for his “horse portions” of all sorts of “strains”), that the most terrible and “killer” doses that cause catharsis (and to cause catharsis is, in my opinion, the noblest of the goals of art!) - these are microscopic doses, precisely calibrated and strictly targeted.

And the catharsis of humor is the catharsis of tragedy, a high cleansing discharge that does not change life, does not free one from its burdens, but gives strength to continue it and, in a sense, reconciles one with it.

After the duel, if fate had judged Pushkin to become a murderer, “a new life should have begun with the destruction of two plans, with the triumph of one, that highest (...) to which he was called in the “desert” (...) Tragic death,” he thought about Pushkin Bulgakov, - was the catharsis of his tragic life (...) and only this saving catharsis fulfills it with a tragic and majestic meaning, which was given to him to reveal on his deathbed in the great dying sufferings.

Alas, researchers of Aristotle have been racking their brains for two millennia over the question of why he did not fulfill his promise to explain what catharsis is and how it is accomplished (we will have to return to this question).

And the multi-genre nature of the Apocrypha is not “a flaw, skillfully executed,” but their methodological advantage, in terms of natural philosophical interpretation, allowing the artist to look at the problems that interest him in a focused way, that is, to look simultaneously from different points of view, using a whole range of means: through the catharsis of aesthetic feelings and emotions; through ethics and morality; through ideology: religion, materialism, astrology, mysticism - together constituting esoteric knowledge, only by comprehending which you can highlight the fat folds on the body of the mafia, corrupt top of the totalitarian regime and look into the human souls locked in their bondage, by comprehending which you can realize the wild fantasy of a science fiction writer, and in the magic of magic to surpass the magician, and in the mystery of secrets to surpass the hermit.

Purifying ritual and 'catharsis' 153 11. Saturation and farce 155 12. Dying and resurrecting gods of bread and porridge 156 13. Bean-lentil farces 158 14. Passionate gods and farcical jesters 160 15. Satarov's drama as food drama 161 16. Structure of tragedy and comedy, consisting of metaphors of 'struggle', 'procession', 'crying', 'laughter', etc.

All its comparisons, metaphors, all the miraculousness do not act on their own, but precisely in correlation with ordinary, “real” reality, and the achieved artistic impression - catharsis - is here, as it were, an analogue of stopping the world.

He gave humanity new realities - metaphysics, catharsis, prime mover, logic and cause-and-effect relationships.

Human society plays bloody games because they are vitally necessary for it, allowing for a kind of catharsis (purification) and internal stabilization of aggressive human nature.

Catharsis - psychology

Catharsis is a special method in psychology that allows you to achieve emotional and sensory release. The technique allows you to achieve results that will have an impact on a person:

• reduction or complete elimination of anxiety;
• weakening the state of frustration;
• better understanding of the inner world and needs;
• general beneficial effect on the individual.

Some psychologists argue that catharsis is an art, and that this is confirmed in practice. It is believed that the term in psychology appeared thanks to Sigmund Freud, who proposed the cathartic method, which involves the transfer into consciousness of memories and feelings with negative energy, which subsequently leads to emotional release.

“Creativity as a complex, by its nature, mental activity of the artist […] is characterized, most closely, by three typical features:

1) the irreproducibility of creative ecstasy in the artist’s mental experience;

2) resignation of will and

3) and a split personality (and in Paul Janet’s , a split consciousness) or the mental automatism of the artist.

These typical features of the creative process, as a holistic, multifaceted synthesis of the artist’s creative energies, appear most clearly in the experience of creative ecstasy as a unique state of catharsis (katharsis) or an involuntary process of liberation, discharge of the artist’s creative energies and objectification of his creative ideas and fantasy images in sudden flashes of intuition.

This peculiar mental state of the artist, which still eludes the attention of psychologists, is characterized in the closest way:

1) as a depressive state or the experience of the oppression of creative ideas and anticipated images of fantasy, “pursuing” the artist’s imagination with an irresistible force - like obsessions (idees fixes);

2) as the artist’s irresistible need to “get rid of”, “get free”, “cleanse” in the process of creativity from the “pursuing” ideas and images of creative fantasy;

3) as an involuntary desire of the artist to objectify in the images of creative fantasy the potential abilities and hidden energies of the spirit inherent in him and

4) as the artist’s need to find oblivion in the process of creativity from the oppression of personal adversity and depressive experiences.

The anesthetic effect of the “catharsis” process can be traced most closely in three directions - corresponding to the three branches of this peculiar phenomenon of the artist’s “inner world”:

1) Catharsis as anesthesia of aesthetic emotions (aesthetic anesthesia);

2) Catharsis as anesthesia of volitional impulses (volitional anesthesia) and

3) Catharsis as anesthesia for the artist’s moral (depressive) emotions (moral anesthesia).

Starting from my proposed classification of the branches of catharsis as a unique phenomenon of the “creative nature” of the artist, we will try to shed light on the question of the anesthetic effect of catharsis on the psyche of the creator of intellectual values.”

Gruzenberg S.O., Genius and creativity: foundations of the theory and psychology of creativity, M., “Krasand”, 2010, p. 105.

Inexpressibility of feelings in altered states of consciousness according to Arnold Ludwig

Catharsis in psychoanalysis

In the practice of psychoanalysis, the use of the cathartic method is a common occurrence. It was created to analyze and identify the motives of human behavior. Emotional catharsis is considered as a set of ways to identify a person’s experiences and actions that are caused by unconscious motives. The techniques allow us to identify repressed ideas, which contributes to their effective elimination. The use of the method for psychotherapeutic purposes involves the following techniques:

• free associations;
• interpretation of words;
• slips of the tongue.

Examples of catharsis

Each person's emotions are individual, and different events can cause catharsis for different people. For sincere believers, this state occurs during a visit to a shrine or a church service. Theater fans experience catharsis after seeing a long-awaited premiere or a legendary performance that they have long dreamed of attending. A similar state can occur when watching a movie premiere. In fact, the goal of any director is precisely to provoke catharsis in the viewer.

Imagine waiting a whole year for the sequel of your favorite movie. Suddenly it turns out that you have important things to do on the day of the premiere, so you don’t book a ticket. Then your day is free, but there is a risk that you will no longer be able to buy a ticket. Fortunately, everything works out. And now you are sitting in the cinema, realizing with satisfaction that you have overcome the difficulties, and the first frames of the long-awaited film appear on the screen. The feeling of inner freedom and delight along with the understanding that everything worked out when there was practically no hope - this is catharsis.

In a broader sense, catharsis can be considered as getting rid of unconscious negative experiences. For example, in psychology there is a theory that horror films and thrillers with a lot of bloody scenes are liked by people who are prone to aggression, but suppress this tendency within themselves. Witnessing violence on screen (and empathizing with the villain rather than the victim) helps them mentally process their internal aggression, experiencing purification and relief.

Similarly, watching a good comedy can cause “mental release” in people who are painfully aware of manifestations of absurdity and injustice in the surrounding reality, but suppress these experiences.

To better understand what catharsis is, you can consider an example from your own life. Try to remember a situation when you managed to do something very important, although before that you actually didn’t believe in success. Despair and doubts suddenly dissipate, and they are replaced by the realization that everything worked out. It is this emotional state, when heaviness in the soul is replaced by incredible lightness, that is called catharsis.

Catharsis in philosophy

Catharsis - in philosophy, this represents the achievement of cult purity. Its goal is to prepare for a meeting with sacred reality by eliminating various types of temptations. Spiritual cleansing occurs through the following emotions expressed by a person:

• compassion for your neighbor;
• empathy;
• fear of losses and negativity.

The term of ancient Greek philosophy and ethics provides for emotional unloading and mystical purification of the soul. A person gets rid of manifestations of sensuality and bodily dirt, which are passions at certain moments in life. This concept was mentioned by Aristotle, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Plato and many other philosophers, which can be observed in their teachings.

Notes

1. [slovari.yandex.ru/Catharsis/spelling “Catharsis” in Russian language dictionaries - Yandex. Dictionaries](unavailable link since 06/14/2016 (1851 days))
2. [gramota.ru/slovari/dic/?zar=x&word=%EA%E0%F2%E0%F0%F1%E8%F1 GRAMOTA.RU | Dictionaries | Checking the word "Catharsis"]
3. Reich V. Character analysis: Technique and basic principles for students and practicing analysts. - M., 1999.
4. Rudestam K. Group psychotherapy. - St. Petersburg, 1999.
5. [iph.ras.ru/elib/1393.html Catharsis] / New philosophical encyclopedia.
6. www.ksu.ru/uni/sank/db/filebase/files/733.doc
7. [www.infoliolib.info/philol/tamarchenko/hr25.html Theoretical poetics: concepts and definitions. Reader. Comp. N. D. Tamarchenko]

Mechanism of catharsis

Achieving catharsis requires the presence of certain factors. A person must go through several stages, including:

• recognition of the need for changes in life;
• willingness to overcome your own fears;
• achieving a calm state;
• sensory deprivation;
• a conscious decision to overcome unpleasant emotional sensations;
• admitting failure.

The effect of catharsis occurs only when a person consciously applies the technique and strives to solve his intrapersonal problems. In order to achieve catharsis, perform several manipulations.

1. Focus all your attention on the problem at hand.
2. Recreate exactly how you felt.
3. Concentrate on those experiences that have reached a peak point.