Re: [xmca] catharsis and category

[Andy Blunden <ablunden@mira.net>]

Thank you Huw. Very encrouaging. "Resolution" seems to capture a lot of it.

I have consulted the OED On-line for "*category*" and found nothing 
surprising about its meaning, as used by Aristotle and Kant and in 
mathematics, more or less meaning "class" but extendable to abstract 
concepts. But what OED did tell me, which adds yet another intriguing 
thread to the puzzle, is that its Latin roots mean "predicament," and in 
olden days, "category" used to be translated as "predicament."

Now "predicament" here is related to "predicate" as in subject and 
predicate, a key metaphysical distinction for Aristotle and dialectics 
generally, but it forces me to reflect on the relation of "predicament" 
- and therefore "category" - to "situation", as in "social situation of 
development," which I have always said, based on how Vygotsky uses the 
term, should be understood as a "predicament," but in the common usage 
of this word as a situation or trap, from which one must make a 
development in order to escape.

*Catharsis*, according to OED is the Greek word meaning "cleansing" or 
"purging," which is of course what is commonly understood by the word. 
With reference to Aristotle is means "the purification of the emotions 
by vicarious experience." Vicarious!? The Freudian usage you referred to 
(thank you), Huw, is "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."  This sounds very much like how I have understood Vygotsky 
to be using the term!!


All that is fine. A true detective story, as Anton says! But what is the 
Russian word which is a unity of these disparate concepts??!!


:)

Andy





Huw Lloyd wrote:
> On 9 June 2011 08:24, Andy Blunden <ablunden@mira.net 
> <mailto:ablunden@mira.net>> wrote:
>
>     I have been watching Nikolai Veresov's videos on vimeo. I refer to
>     No. 2 in particular: http://vimeo.com/groups/chat/videos/10226589
>     In this talk, Nikolai is explaining his view of the development of
>     Vygotsky's theory of the development of the high mental functions
>     through the appropriation of social functions, and in doing so, he
>     appears to be mistaking the English word "category" for the
>     English word "catharsis."
>
>
> I think that there is an issue with the English (Freudian) use of 
> "catharsis" that refers to expression without genuine influence, which 
> a) I don't think is cathartic and b) not what was intended in 
> psychology of art, i.e. achieving, or identifying with, a genuine 
> change (or resolution), even if only a resolution of a staged 
> performance (identification), or some other art.
>
> This notion of "real" catharsis then becomes more related to the 
> notion of category.
>
> In my studies and thinking I have been happy with Nikolai's use of the 
> term category and it's relation to stage.  With respect to plan/plane 
> correspondences there are several overlapping aspects, which seem to 
> be quite precisely captured by this otherwise ambiguous term (joint 
> context, intention and topological representation).
>
> The dramatic conflict (category) has correspondence with (distributed) 
> self-organisation.  The social participation of emotionally led 
> behaviour leads to structured forms of participation, e.g. acquiring 
> new coordinating structures in the process of achieving one's goals.
>
> Huw

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Andy Blunden*
Joint Editor MCA: 
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g932564744
Home Page: http://home.mira.net/~andy/
Book: http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=227&pid=34857
MIA: http://www.marxists.org

__________________________________________
_____
xmca mailing list
xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca