On the Paradox of Tragedy : Notes for the Balance of Its Theoretical Heritage

Abstract

This paper examines some of the theories that were proposed to answer the paradox of tragedy during the eighteenth century, tracking what these theories, in their diversity, show with respect to the assumptions within which the paradox of tragedy arises and the limits and possibilities this approach may offer to answer the problems raised by our aesthetic response to the pain of others. The theories can be classified according to four basic positions. The analysis of these positions encourages us to study this phenomenon from a perspective that takes into account the broader anthropological and ethical context of our emotional reactions to others and keeps in mind the peculiarities that involves the viewer's position (in contrast to the sufferer's position). Also, the analysis suggests that we set aside the search for a common solution and try to develop answers that account for the relevance of differences in both the cultural and normative context of emotional reactions, as well as how various genres and particular works model and structure these reactions.