Metodo

International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

193386

Pain and catharsis in art, ritual and therapy

Roman Meinhold

pp. 93-109

Abstract

Catharsis in the context of healing rituals, psychotherapy and narratives often involves the (re-)experience of pain. Ideally, catharsis in these three domains is a medical homoeopathic discharge and "Aufhebung" of negative emotions, experiences or "personal aspects". The approach taken in this investigation is transdisciplinary, utilizing research findings in fields such as comparative religion, anthropology, philosophy, art theory, humanistic psychology, ethnology and ethology. The chapter emphasizes the need to re-valuate medical "western" mainstream treatments that attempt to eliminate or reduce pain and further research on ethno-medical, holistic, preventive, humanistic and "eastern" alternative treatments in order to intensify the discourse on such matters.

Publication details

Published in:

George Siby K, Jung P. G. (2016) Cultural ontology of the self in pain. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 93-109

DOI: 10.1007/978-81-322-2601-7_5

Full citation:

Meinhold Roman (2016) „Pain and catharsis in art, ritual and therapy“, In: S. K. George & P. G. Jung (eds.), Cultural ontology of the self in pain, Dordrecht, Springer, 93–109.