멜랑콜리 개념의 기원과 분화를 통해 본 몸과 마음의 관계

Abstract

Melancholy is the concept originated from the humor theory which dominated the Western ancient medicine. Black bile was considered to cause various pathological states of body, in particular, abnormal changes in emotions and behaviors. Apart from the other three humors, that is blood, phlegm, and yellow bile, black bile is a factious entity. Initially, melancholy was a medical concept. But, as it explains emotions and behaviors, it was also used in literature and arts to describe human emotions, especially ‘melancholic emotion’. Melancholy is a good example that shows how the ancient thought of the relationship between mind and body. They thought that the human body and its physiological workings are the foundation of thinking and emotions of human being. In that sense, the concept of melancholy provides us with a lot of subjects to reflect on mind-body relationships, which is one of the important philosophical issues in contemporary philosophy.