Phil,
Thanks for the link!! And thank Nate for posting it
Ana
Phil Chappell wrote:
>Mike and All Spam lovers,
>
>Parts of Psychology of Art are here.
>
>Cheers,
>Phil
>
>http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/1925/
>
>On Monday, April 04, 2005, at 02:52AM, Mike Cole <lchcmike@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>><<Original Attached>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Ana-- I am confused by the law of aesthetic response.
>> I get two (perhaps) relevant defintions from OED for catharsis:
>> 1. The purification of the emotions by vicarious experience, esp.
>> through the drama
>> 2. /Psychotherapy/. The process of relieving an abnormal excitement
>> by re-establishing the association of the emotion with the memory or
>> idea of the event which was the first cause of it, and of eliminating
>> it by abreaction
>>
>> My copy of Psych of Art has long ago been borrowed in extinction. Can
>> you elaborate so I can follow the rest of the thought?
>> mike
>>
>> On Apr 2, 2005 11:27 PM, *Ana Marjanovic-Shane* <ana@zmajcenter.org
>> <mailto:ana@zmajcenter.org>> wrote:
>>
>> In the Psychology of Art, Vygotsky said:
>> "The law of aesthetic response ...: /it comprises an affect that
>> develops in two opposite directions but reaches annihilation at
>> its point of termination/.
>> This is the process we should like to call catharsis."(Psychology
>> of Art, MIT Press, 1971, p. 214)
>> Learning is often, probably always, driven by the law of
>> catharsis -- learning which is meaningful and transformative.
>> But the emotion that develops in two opposite directions is not
>> always a benign and sweet thing. It is dramatic, it is breaking
>> away, it is or can become fully developed drama or tragedy. Think
>> of the great thought revolutions: Copernicus and Galileo.
>> The best learning, a true metamorphosis is never merely academic
>> and just cognitive.
>> But, there are more levels here. There is a difference between a
>> catharsis, as transformation into something new; and destruction,
>> a transformation after which nothing is left. However, a line
>> between the two is very thin.
>> What does it mean to be pro-life? A catch phrase, almost a battle
>> cry, that touches some people and blinds them to everything else:
>> complexities of human situation, effects on other people,
>> scientific findings... In the same breath, they can be against
>> "abortion" and for the "capital punishment". And it makes sense
>> to them. And then you have people who know how to use this catch
>> phrase, this battle cry to achieve some other goals. Goals which
>> have nothing to do and may be contrary to the meaning of
>> "pro-life". You almost feel like a spectator in a theater seeing
>> how the affects develop in the opposite directions and you wait
>> for them to reach annihilation and the point of termination. And
>> you pray that the termination will be in the form of the social
>> catharsis -- not social destruction.
>> Ana
>>
>>
>>
>> Mike Cole wrote:
>>
>>> Breaking away
>>>
>>> Breaking away
>>> stealing thoughts
>>> cutting edges and
>>> turning around.
>>>
>>> Hippity-hop!
>>> I cannot stop.
>>>
>>> Butterflies, jellyfish,
>>> marzipan sweet,
>>> snap dragon flies
>>> sprinkled with sand.
>>>
>>> Breaking away
>>> over the wires
>>> under the radar
>>> covering tracks.
>>>
>>> Hippity-hop!
>>> I cannot stop.
>>>
>>> Butterflies are blown northward
>>> to the San Joaquin valley in profusion.
>>> Orange, black, white fleeting lives,
>>> Flying, blowing north.
>>>
>>> Breaking away
>>> gently destroying
>>> remembrance of life before.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Today the butterflies in our back yard crowded our beautiful
>>> purple flowers. Not yet blown away on their
>>> trip north. Heather appreciated the thoughts. Their lives are so
>>> short!
>>>
>>> Today Pope John Paul the 2nd died. They say he promoted pro life
>>> and pro social justice policies. It is an
>>> occasion,along with the furor over Terry Shaivo, for all of us
>>> to re-think what it means to be pro-life and pro-poor.
>>> David tried to get us to think about this issue earlier this
>>> week. Apparently his comments did not resonate. Might
>>> they evoke more externalized reflection the second time around?
>>>
>>> mike
>>
>>
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