What is Catharsis?

What is Catharsis?

The wordcatharsis literally means purification. As a philosophical term, it is related to the science of psychology. The purification described here is expressed as the liberation of the human soul from bad things. This is also called soul transformation. The purification of the soul is to ensure that the individual is liberated after reaching the emotions that he or she has pushed into the unconscious. The term cleansing is also used instead of the word catharsis. In addition, this technique also appears as a form of treatment.

The word catharsis is a term in psychology and dates back to Ancient Greece. This word is mentioned for the first time in Aristotle's Poetics, and it has an important place in Freud's theory of psychoanalysis. Therefore, this word is examined with questions such as what does catharsis mean, what is the meaning of the word catharsis .
The literal meaning of this word is purification. It is expressed as the effect of the tragedy described in this work on the audience. The term catharsis is also included in Plato's work titled "State". What is wanted to be described in this work is just and honorable rulers.

What is the TDK Dictionary Meaning of Catharsis?

The word catharsis TDK dictionary meaning is also considered to be used for the first time in Aristotales' Poetics. The audience experiences feelings such as pity and fear. Through these feelings, it reaches internal purification. Thus, the audience tends towards emotional justice.

What does it mean to experience catharsis?

Catharsis literally means emotional discharge and psychological purification . Therefore, the discourse of living catharsis means that the individual lives in a purified way.
Psychological therapies are applied for this purification state to occur in the person. The feelings accumulated within the individual are revealed. The person can bravely confront these feelings that have been revealed. After the confrontation, catharsis begins.

How did catharsis emerge?

The catharsis technique has a process of emergence. First of all, it contains strong feelings that lead to a conflict situation. These feelings first manifest themselves in the form of symptoms. This affects the daily life of the person in a concrete way. Then, these feelings come to the level of consciousness and manifest themselves in the form of slips of the tongue, dreams, repetition and free association. The fact that these effects occur in the individual means that these strong feelings have somehow overcome the defensive structure of the unconscious. After this level, the individual has to find an expression for himself/herself. If he/she succeeds in this, he/she creates awareness in response to his/her inner world. With this awareness, he feels a strong sense of cleansing.

What does catharsis mean Psychology Meaning

The word catharsis is actually defined as soul transformation or spiritual metamorphosis. In the field of psychology, it has a place in the theory of psychoanalysis pioneered by Freud.
In psychology, the catharsis method is to transform the feelings that cause trauma and are pushed out of consciousness into consciousness, creating emotional discharge and thus cleansing the sick person from pathogenic feelings and neurotic symptoms.

Effects of catharsis

The concept of catharsis was first introduced by Aristotle in 350 BC with his work Poetics. According to the famous thinker, tragedy causes feelings of fear and compassion in the individual. Through these feelings, the individual is cleansed from the emotions exhibited on stage. This function, catharsis, has had a positive effect on the psyche of individuals from history until today.

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CreatorNP Istanbul Hospital Editorial Board
Updated At05 March 2024
Created At19 January 2023
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