Personal Well-Being

Abstract

The claims grouped under this category can be seen, in many respects, as a derivation of Aristotle’s theory of catharsis that was discussed in Chapter 3. In these cases, the medical metaphor which, as we have seen, has been at the centre of an interpretative debate over Aristotle’s definition of tragedy in the Poetics, has been developed into full-blown new theoretical developments focusing on the effects of the arts on individuals’ well-being and, more recently, quality of life. Two main derivations of the original Aristotelian ideas can be identified under the heading of ‘theories claiming that the arts can be beneficial to personal health and well-being’, one more theoretical, the other more pragmatic in its nature and aims.