| ISSN: 2583-3812 | ISSN: 2583-3812JOURNAL ARTICLE
Keywords: Catharsis, emotion, tragedy, ethics, aesthetics, purification, Poetics
Abstract: Aristotle’s doctrine of catharsis—commonly interpreted as the purgation or purification of the emotions of pity and fear—occupies a central position in his Poetics and continues to shape critical thought in aesthetics and literary theory. This paper offers a comprehensive re-evaluation of Aristotelian catharsis by examining its emotional, ethical, and aesthetic dimensions. On the emotional level, it explores how tragedy, by arousing pity and fear, enables spectators to experience and regulate profound emotions, leading to heightened awareness of human fragility and moral limitation. Ethically, catharsis is viewed as an extension of Aristotle’s concern with moral education, suggesting that tragedy functions as a medium for cultivating virtue and guiding audiences toward eudaimonia, or human flourishing. Aesthetically, the study investigates the paradoxical pleasure derived from tragic experience—a form of aesthetic release that transforms suffering into understanding and emotional renewal. Drawing upon classical commentary, modern philosophy, and contemporary psychological theories of emotion, this paper argues that Aristotle’s catharsis transcends simplistic notions of emotional purgation. Rather, it represents a complex process of emotional clarification and ethical reflection mediated through the structure and rhythm of tragic art. Ultimately, catharsis emerges as a dynamic synthesis of emotion, morality, and aesthetic form—a process through which tragedy both mirrors and refines human experience, transforming pain into insight and chaos into order. This study reaffirms catharsis as a timeless model of how art educates the emotions and elevates the moral and intellectual consciousness of its audience.
Article Info: Received: 15 Oct 2025; Received in revised form: 12 Nov 2025; Accepted: 18 Nov 2025; Available online: 22 Nov 2025
DOI: 10.22161/ijeel.4.6.8
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