Abstract
The book is an interdisciplinary attempt to more firmly determine the place of catharsis in the lives of individuals and society. The natural startling point is the approach of Aristotle, who saw in catharsis important benefit for the arts, especially in theatre and music.
This work, however, does not follow the history of the term or its interpretation, but rather seeks to locate the role of catharsis in art today. Principal attention is placed on the theatre and its cathartic potential, for both the audience and the actors.
A clear modern parallel is found in the area of sport where the phenomena of catharsis can also be observed in both the audience and the actors. The role of the "visual consciousness" is emphasized as an important factor in the selective evaluation of reality and with a certain novelty is presented a different view of stress which through the destabilization of stable neuronal connections can lead to catharsis and ensuing adoption of new models of both evaluation and behaviour.
Considerable space in the book is devoted to the spiritual and philosophical schools which recognized the necessity for continuous cleansing in the area of personal growth and thus purposely pursued catharsis.Various forms of psychotherapy use catharsis as a therapeutic tool - more attention is paid to psychodrama. As a side example the model of radical catharsis is presented, where the cleansing aims for "emptying".
The final section is a philosophical synthesis which illustrates the specific existential movement within catharsis which plays an important bio-hygienic role.