Katharsis, Pleasurable Relief
I am looking forward to attending a concert tomorrow evening, Friday, at the Lake County Fair. Infinity, a cover band I’ve enjoyed in the past, is scheduled to take the main stage at 9PM. Since I am a senior citizen now, Fair admission comes at a discount. To hear tunes made popular nationally in the mid-70s, by arena rock bands such as Journey, Boston, Queen, Survivor for the five bucks that I expect to pay –may be my best deal of the summer.
I have wondered before why I feel such satisfaction, such emotional rapture caught up by the keyboard runs, the slashing guitar riffs, and those soaring vocals when most of the songs are sad love song? Is not “love” an emotion that is fraught with the extremes of pain and pleasure, a mega-throw of the dice? There is a pleasurable release/relief to hear and feel a range of emotion riding on the melody and the vocals.
Aristotle in his Poetics, said that “katharsis” was a important feature of the performance of Tragedy. In its heyday Athenian society was knit together by the work of the tragedians. Theater continues that work for us as well, though live performances are special occasions. Our medium of choice is typically electronic.
A live performance is all about calibrating, and re-calibrating the full range of human emotions. For Aristotle, by contrast to Plato, the role of emotion is as important as the role of intellect.
Aristotle comments on the link between emotion and virtue:
For example, fear, confidence, desire, anger, pity and in general pleasure and distress can be experienced in greater or lesser degree, and in both cases wrongly. To feel them at the right time, in response to the right things, with regard to the right people, for the right reason and in the right way–that is the mean and the optimum, which is the characteristic of virtue.
Nicomachean Ethics, 1106b18-23
Thinking about these matters, our President came to mind. I believe that he could use a lot of katharsis. With katharsis, he would be in a better place emotionally. White House staff would not be as subject to his day to day emotional outbursts. I suspect that Jeff Sessions in particular would appreciate a respite from the twitter storm.
In fact, I’d be willing to spring for his $5 admission and keep company with him during the concert.
