Aristotle, 384-322 B.C., progeny of Plato and “one of the greatest thinkers of history,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, felt if one were affected strongly with an emotion, “such as pity or fear,” one could go to a show in which pity or fear figured strongly, and if that show was sufficiently effective in the transmission of pity or fear, it would rid the affected one of those emotions. I don”t know precisely what emotions “such as pity” include; perhaps it”s not meant to designate exactly, and I don”t know where Aristotle contracted this idea.
A thinker, by some curious analogy, will often happen on a concept that strikes him as so handy and dandy that he can”t resist giving it a place among the great thoughts of the world and so, fearful of going too deeply into the question of its bona fides, he introduces it to the world as-is, where it holds court in rare style until someone demands proof of its antecedents. Questionable concepts don”t usually last as long as Aristotle”s catharsis has been with us, but Aristotle”s reputation keeps doubters subdued. And catharsis has now been joined by a stalking horse to hide behind in the form of homeopathy, a medical treatment whereby a patient is hopefully purged by contracting a bit of the disease to be eradicated.
Now at last, however, twentieth and twenty-first century neuroscientists have proved whatever one does becomes easier during the doing and, where pleasure applies, becomes more fun with each doing, thereby reducing Aristotle”s catharsis to the level of fighting fire with gasoline. And there is, indeed, a transient period during which, having performed some activity, as it might be hunting bear to the point of fatigue, one can be said truly to be purged of any desire to hunt bear for several months; but when the several months are up, the desire to resume the activity is again dominant.
Notwithstanding, I think it would be good sense, in this case, to buy sound fare with false coin. Catharsis has earned a place in our language by long service. Millions know what it means, and it performs essential syntactical duty.
Dean Sparks, Lucerne
