Posted by
TheBean on Monday, January 12, 2009 10:31:41 PM
The catharsis idea is even more dangerous when applied to anger. Go back to the money-wanting thoughts of the previous post; release from that obsession is attained not through more thought but through less. If the catharsis idea in its full form is accepted, you are in a totally deterministic zone with anger. When someone cuts in front of you in the line at the supermarket, you are allotted a supply of anger. When a yokel drives like a maniac on your freeway, you are allotted a supply of anger. The only healthy way to deal with this is to let it out, so you are not really responsible when you get home from work and yell at your kids.
Consider an alternative. Suppose that when you're angry, you go through a process of (1.) describing the exact nature of the dispute in language that does _not_ give you extra justice, (2.) reminding yourself that you do not want to be angry, (3.) deciding rationally on kind ways to think about and to treat the other party, and (4.) thinking about other things. You are still relating to the frustrating individual in the ways you want to and there is no room for anger.
More on this when I've given it some higher-quality thought...