Tragic Pathos : Pity and Fear in Greek Philosophy and Tragedy

Scholars have often focused on understanding Aristotle's poetic theory, and particularly the concept of catharsis in the Poetics, as a response to Plato's critique of pity in the Republic. However, this book shows that, while Greek thinkers all acknowledge pity and some form of fear as responses to tragedy, each assumes for the two emotions a different purpose, mode of presentation and, to a degree, understanding. This book reassesses expressions of the emotions within different tragedies and explores emotional responses to and discussions of the tragedies by contemporary philosophers, providing insights into the ethical and social implications of the emotions. TRAGIC PATHOS 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Preface and acknowledgments 11 List of abbreviations 14 Introduction 17 PREMISE AND PURPOSE 17 EMOTION: EMOTION AS RESPONSE TO TRAGEDY, TO ART(S) 19 SOME SPECIFICATIONS: AESTHETIC EMOTIONS – POLITICAL AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS 24 EMOTION AND THE LANGUAGE-GAME: CULTURAL UNITY AND VARIETY 27 A BRIEF REVIEW OF SCHOLARSHIP: PROBLEMS 30 Pity 30 FEAR. THE “ONTOLOGICAL” PROBLEM OF DRAMATIC FEAR 32 MORAL PROBLEMS OF ORDINARY FEAR: THEIR CONSEQUENCES FOR AESTHETIC FEAR 34 THE TWO AS PAIR 36 NOTES ON TERMINOLOGY: AESTHETIC OR MIMETIC? THE TERMS FOR PITY AND FEAR(S) 37 Methodology and structure 39 A synopsis 40 PART I Theoretical views about pity and fear as aesthetic emotions 43 CHAPTER 1 Drama and the emotions: an Indo-European connection? 45 CHAPTER 2 Gorgias: a strange trio, the poetic emotions 53 2.1 CONTEXT (A): PITY AND HATRED, GUIDED REACTIONS FOR GORGIAS’ AUDIENCE (HEL. 7) 53 2.2 CONTEXT (B): SPEECH CAN STOP FEAR AND INCREASE PITY (HEL. 8) 55 2.3 CONTEXT (C): POETRY AROUSES PITY, FEARFUL SHIVER, AND LONGING (HEL. 9) 56 2.4 CONTEXT (D): INCANTATIONS MAY BRING PLEASURE AND BANISH PAIN (HEL. 10) 59 2.5 CONTEXT (E): WORDS, LIKE MEDICINE, CAN INSPIRE FEAR OR COURAGE (HEL. 14) 59 2.6 CONTEXT (F): FEAR AND IMAGINATION (HEL. 16; 17) 60 2.7 IF THE SPECTATOR ACCEPTS THE “DECEPTION” OF TRAGEDY, ARE HIS EMOTIONS AUTHENTIC? 63 CHAPTER 3 Plato: from reality to tragedy and back 68 3.1 THE PROBLEM WITH ORDINARY “FEAR” AND AESTHETIC FEAR 68 3.2 AESTHETIC EMOTIONS: IMPURE PLEASURES, “FALSE” KNOWLEDGE 74 3.3 PHILOSOPHICAL DRAMA AND THE TRANSFORMED TRAGIC EMOTIONS 82 CHAPTER 4 Aristotle: the first “theorist” of the aesthetic emotions 86 4.1 PITY AND FEAR AS RESPONSES OF THE AUDIENCE IN THE POETICS: AN IMPASSE 86 4.2 PITY AND FEAR AS RESPONSES OF THE AUDIENCE: RHETORIC AND DRAMA 88 4.3 AESTHETIC PITY: CREATING A VISION OF SUFFERING THROUGH SPEECH 92 4.3.1 Seeing emotion: visual versus vision 96 4.3.2 Conclusions on Pity. Fear. Transfer of emotion through Phantasia 106 4.4 PROPER PLEASURE (OIKEIA HEDONE) FROM EMOTIONS 119 4.4.1 Proper pleasure as a species of mimesis 119 4.4.2 Proper pleasure supervening the “activity” of tragedy 124 4.4.3 Painful emotions in pleasure: Oikeia hedone and the pleasures of memory and mourning 133 4.5 PREDECESSORS AND SUCCESSORS. TIMOCLES. HOW ORIGINAL IS ARISTOTLE? 147 4.6 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 152 PART II Pity and fear within tragedies 155 CHAPTER 5 An introduction 157 5.1 PURPOSE OF SURVEY 157 5.2 PITY AND FEAR AS EXPRESSIONS OF INTERNAL AUDIENCES AND THE PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS (GORGIAS, PLATO, ARISTOTLE): A DIFFERENT EMPHASIS 159 5.3 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PITY AND FEAR AS EXPRESSIONS OF INTERNAL AUDIENCES AND EXTERNAL (CONTEMPORARY ATHENIAN) AUDIENCES 161 5.3.1 Internal audiences as models for external audiences 161 5.3.2 Linking internal audiences and external audiences: problems surrounding pity and fear 164 CHAPTER 6 Aeschylus: Persians 167 6.1 A REVIEW OF INTERPRETATIONS 167 6.2 PATRIOTIC PRIDE AND ITS COMPATIBILITY WITH TRAGIC PITY 169 6.3 INTERNAL EXPRESSIONS OF FEAR: ATHENIAN PITY FOR THE AGGRESSOR? 173 CHAPTER 7 Prometheus Bound 180 7.1 CONTEXT AND INTERPRETATIONS: MODERN REACTIONS 180 7.2 SUFFERING BEFORE THE EYES AND APPEALS TO PITY 183 7.3 THE POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PITY AND FEAR 188 CHAPTER 8 Sophocles: Ajax 197 8.1 A REVIEW OF INTERPRETATIONS 197 8.2 THE RELUCTANT SPECTATOR: ODYSSEUS AND HIS PITY 201 8.3 MOURNING A FORMER SELF 208 8.4 LACK OF “TRAGIC PATHOS” AFTER THE SUICIDE 215 8.5 SOME NOTES ON TRAGIC FEAR(S): CONCLUSIONS TO SOPHOCLES 218 CHAPTER 9 Euripides: Orestes 224 9.1 CONTEXT AND INTERPRETATIONS: A PLAY WITH A RATHER “COMIC” END 224 9.2 AN OPTIMISTIC OPENING GNOME: NOT FEAR-INSPIRING 229 9.3 COMPETING FOR PITY 231 9.4 THE VISION OF THE ERINYES 232 9.5 NOT SO “TRAGIC” PITY AND FEAR 235 9.6 THE TRAP OF PITY: ORESTES, MEDEA, AND HELEN – PARTICULARITIES OF THE TRAGIC EMOTIONS IN EURIPIDEAN DRAMA 242 9.7 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS: PITY AND FEAR IN TRAGEDIES 247 APPENDIX Catharsis and the emotions in the definition of tragedy in the Poetics 254 HOMEOPATHIC, MEDICAL VIEW 256 ETHICAL BALANCE 259 DRAMATIC CLARIFICATION 262 COGNITIVE PLEASURE 264 Bibliography 267 MAIN EDITIONS USED 267 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 268 Index 291 "Scholars have often focused on understanding Aristotle's poetic theory, and particularly the concept of catharsis in the Poetics, as a response to Plato's critique of pity in the Republic. However, this book shows that, while Greek thinkers all acknowledge pity and some form of fear as responses to tragedy, each assumes a different purpose for the two emotions and mode of presentation and, to a degree, understanding of them. This book reassesses expressions of the emotions within different tragedies and explores emotional responses to and discussions of the tragedies by contemporary philosophers, providing insights into the ethical and social implications of the emotions"-- Provided by publisher "Scholars have often focused on understanding Aristotle's poetic theory, and particularly the concept of catharsis in the Poetics, as a response to Plato's critique of pity in the Republic. However, this book shows that, while Greek thinkers all acknowledge pity and some form of fear as responses to tragedy, each assumes a different purpose for the two emotions and mode of presentation and, to a degree, understanding of them. This book reassesses expressions of the emotions within different tragedies and explores emotional responses to and discussions of the tragedies by contemporary philosophers, providing insights into the ethical and social implications of the emotions"-- Résumé de l'éditeur Machine generated contents note: Introduction; Part I. Theoretical Views about Pity and Fear as Aesthetic Emotions: 1. Drama and the emotions: an Indo-European connection? 2. Gorgias: a strange trio, the poetic emotions; 3. Plato: from reality to tragedy and back; 4. Aristotle: the first 'theorist' of the aesthetic emotions; Part II. Pity and Fear within Tragedies: 5. An introduction; 6. Aeschylus: Persians; 7. Prometheus Bound; 8. Sophocles: Ajax; 9. Euripides: Orestes; Appendix: catharsis and the emotions in the definition of tragedy in the Poetics. In modern times philosophers and neuropsychologists have explored the nature of the emotions aroused by literature; but ancient Greek thinkers had already developed their unique assessments of the tragic emotions. This analysis of pity and fear within fifth-century tragedies provides insights into the ethical and social implications of the emotions.