Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Philosophy of Art, Faculty of Art Theories and Studies, Art University, Tehran, Iran.
2
Ph.D. in Philosophy of Art, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
10.30480/dam.2022.3795.1678
Abstract
In this article, the moral aspects of the concept of tragic catharsis from Aristotle's point of view are studied. This study is based on the connections between moral aspects in the concept of tragic catharsis with the same aspects in musical catharsis from the viewpoint of Aristotle.
In “Poetics”, it is stated that tragedy causes catharsis in the audience by arousing the emotions of fear and pity. Aristotle mentioned the term catharsis only once in “Poetics”. Apart from this, in the eighth chapter of his treatise on “politics”, he discussed the types of catharsis resulting from music. In the eighth chapter of his “Politics”, Aristotle believes that some types of music are more effective in the moral education of the audience. These more effective types arouse the audience's emotions with processes far from extremes, and the result of this arousal of emotions is the balancing of those emotions in the audience. As in “Nicomachean Ethics”, the main condition for virtuous action ensuring happiness is the observance of the rule of moderation, and for tragedy in “Poetics”, which is the imitation of actions and life, such a condition is given for the virtuous action of tragic character. In “Politics” also is pointed out that works of good imitation (including music and tragedy) must be produced through moral simulation with the objective objects of their representation in reality that are influenced by emotions. Thus, tragic catharsis under certain conditions, with mechanisms similar to musical catharsis, provides the moral moderation of human emotions. The questions of this research are as follows: First, what are the connections between the moral aspect of tragic catharsis and musical catharsis? And secondly, what is the connection between the feelings of pleasure and pain resulting from musical catharsis with these feelings in tragedy from a moral point of view? This is a qualitative research and it has been done in a descriptive-analytical way based on library data (mainly Aristotle's original works). Also, due to the large number of complex technical terms in Aristotle's work, a specialized method of confrontation between translated texts and the authentic English version has been performed as part of the research method.
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