Cinema and the artificial passions : a conversation with the Abbé Du Bos
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia
Publication Date
2013
Volume
69
Issue
3-4
First Page
419
Last Page
430
Publisher
Universidade Catolica Portuguesa
Keywords
apocalyptic cinema, artificial passions, catharsis, Du Bos, emotion, paradox of negative affect
Abstract
In the following fictional interview, the Abbé Jean-Baptiste Du Bos’ ideas about the representational arts are applied to relevant aspects of the cinema. Du Bos argues that normally works of cinematic fiction are designed to give rise to ‘artificial passions’ that have the function of providing relief from boredom without the negative consequences that many alternative pursuits would have. Du Bos’ solution to the paradox of negative affect and his position on Aristotle’s doctrine of catharsis are also set forth in the interview. The question of whether films have philosophical significance is also taken up. The upshot is a somewhat unfamiliar early 18th-century perspective on some contemporary issues.
Print ISSN
08705283
Publisher Statement
Copyright @ 2013 Universidade Catolica Portuguesa. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Livingston, P. (2013). Cinema and the artificial passions: A conversation with the Abbé Du Bos. Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia, 69(3-4), 419-430. Retrieved from http://www.rpf.pt/index.php?option=com_sobipro&pid=54&sid=302:Philosophy-and-Cinema&Itemid=0&lang=en