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

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