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Descartes didn’t directly address theater as an art form, but he saw it as a model for the relationship between individuals and their emotions. Being a spectator allows us to engage with representations of passions without succumbing to their direct effects. Theater, though not symbolizing the world, serves as a powerful example of intense emotional engagement while maintaining a necessary distance for preserving inner freedom. In Cartesian morality, the act of spectating, whether in theater or novel reading, illustrates the potential to transform passions into internal emotions without strict rules or discipline, allowing individuals to strategically navigate their emotions without suppression.
In this philosophical exploration, Descartes considers the world as a stage and draws parallels between life’s passions and theatrical performances. He suggests that engaging with passions, like watching a play, allows individuals to experience intense emotions without succumbing to their typical real-life consequences. Descartes emphasizes the importance of adopting a spectator’s position, encouraging individuals to view their own passions as if they were enacted on a stage. This perspective, resembling a Cartesian method, enables a disinterested observation and reflection on one’s emotions.
Descartes extends the analogy to the theater, highlighting its representational nature. The theater, like the novel, serves as a medium for embodying fiction and simulating troublesome passions, offering a detached yet deep understanding. The philosopher argues that this approach allows individuals to face passions indirectly, fostering an active connection to humanity.
The comparison with the theater extends into Descartes’ discussions on objectivity and morality. He seeks objectivity by distinguishing experiences, ideas, and emotions, drawing parallels with the discernment between visible and invisible aspects of material bodies. The theater metaphor also plays a role in understanding the relationship between the soul, body, and external events, providing a basis for separating immediate significance from reflective significance.
Descartes proposes that adopting a theatrical perspective on life allows individuals to resist the impact of passions without becoming insensitive. The spectator’s position becomes an active posture, demonstrating the ability to resist external influences through internal reflection. The philosopher suggests that this approach not only provides entertainment but also serves a therapeutic purpose, offering a remedy for the soul.
In summary, Descartes uses the analogy of the theater to explore the relationship between human passions, emotions, and the ability to detach oneself from life’s events. The theatrical perspective, akin to the Cartesian method, becomes a means of achieving a positive and just relation to oneself and others, promoting self-contentment without relying on theological or historical frameworks.
Articles 94, 147, and 148 from the Passions of the Soul
Descartes identifies the primary drawback of passions as their tendency to assign excessive value to immediate experiences and events. He suggests that ideally, one should emotionally engage with passions without forming judgments of desirability or aversion. This capacity is exemplified in the theater or literature, where one can be moved emotionally without attaching personal judgments. Descartes advocates observing the world not just visually but also intellectually, enabling a reflective response to emotions. In his exploration of joy and love, Descartes distinguishes between passions and interior emotions, asserting that morality’s role is to guide desires toward objects understood as genuinely good. Interior emotions, originating from the soul rather than the body, create an autonomous affective system, influencing the soul’s orientation towards itself. Intellectual joy, akin to Kant’s concept of respect, stems from representing lived experiences in thought, transcending mere experiential existence through reason and reflection.
The letter to Elisabeth of May 18, 1645 (Correspondence, 85–88)
Descartes challenges the notion of equal intellectual capacity by acknowledging qualitative differences in souls and their varying degrees of nobility. He contends that the greatness of souls lies in their ability to resist passions from corrupting rational judgments. The danger of passions lies in them annexing the soul’s interior, leading to being “beside oneself.” Descartes relates this to the theatrical representation of fortune, where spectators maintain distance from exterior events, experiencing passions as mere representations. The philosopher emphasizes the active disinterestedness of great souls, exemplified in their compassion for friends in misfortune. The remedy for passions, Descartes suggests, involves a mental game with representations, regulating concern for the body in proportion to its importance. The desired result is a dynamic balance between genuine sorrow and the internal satisfaction of empathetic capability, creating understanding within the imagination itself.
The letter of May–June 1645
This letter distinguishes between imagination and understanding in relation to the impact of events on the soul. Unlike the previous letter, it argues that even recognized performances can harm one’s health by inducing genuine sadness, despite the awareness that the events are fictional. The soul’s presence in the body is so intertwined that unhealthy representations can alter bodily states. Despite thoughts belonging to the soul’s action, they can influence physical conditions. The relation between imagination and understanding works bidirectionally, producing opposing effects. While imagination can roam freely within defined limits, the understanding can always regain control. The analogy of Descartes’ “evil genius” mirrors a theatrical device. In today’s context, where the virtual world can be perceived as more real due to intense affects, the letter suggests parallels with those who become unhealthily immersed in tragic performances. It raises questions about the line between spectatorship and participation, underscoring the importance of maintaining a balance between imagination and understanding for overall well-being.
Conclusion
The connection between performance and the generous man’s relationship with the world stems from the inherently solitary nature of the cogito experience. The cogito implies an inalienable aspect within man—his freedom. To perceive the world as a performance, one must assume a position outside it, similar to Archimedes with a lever. Descartes, at the end of his meditations, suggests considering life events as a theatrical spectacle. This supposition allows us to view reality as if it were a spectacle, urging us to see rather than blindly believe. The detachment provided by the spectacle allows us to experience passions without succumbing to them, offering a more objective and lucid perspective on events. Being a spectator is not a passive stance but an active and positive one, fostering the recognition of shared human behavior. The concept of the soul, as Descartes highlights, plays a crucial role in understanding the relationship between interiority and exteriority, enabling the soul to become a spectator of the world by maintaining a necessary distance for a genuine perception of the external world.
Source:
Guenancia, P. (2018). The model of the theater in Descartes’ writings. Revue de métaphysique et de morale, 98, 199-214. https://www.cairn-int.info/journal–2018-2-page-199.htm.