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THE BATTLE FOR THE NEURON’S WINGS
THE BATTLE FOR THE NEURON’S WINGS

Author(s): Raluca Blaga
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
Published by: Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai
Keywords: neuroscience; mirror neurons; catharsis; neuroarthistory; sentimental catharsis; reasoning; reflexive catharsis.

Summary/Abstract: The following study uses as its starting point the ancient battle between philosophy and theatre and takes as a road companions it’s two most famous protagonists: Plato and Aristotle. Taking a close look at their writings, I found not only an answer considering their battle for knowledge, for the encirclement of the spectator’s mind, but also the traces of one ‘predecessor’ of neuroscience – Aristotle. Informed by John Onians’s theories regarding neuroscience, art and history, and also adding neural plasticity as an ingredient, I’ve built my own personal (sup)position regarding catharsis, which I see as a two-fold experience/process - an emotional catharsis and a reasoning, reflexive catharsis.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 217-229
  • Page Count: 13