975 – Art, Religion And Psychosis

Abstract

Introduction

Art and Religion have accompanied the history of human kind since primordial times, undergoing changes with evolution, being interconnected or separated in antithesis in some historical periods. Nevertheless both are eliciting the idea of “Sublime” affecting in a greater or lesser degree the life of individuals in our society. A curious interconnection with psychosis is seen in two peculiar conditions: Stendhal and Jerusalem syndromes.

Objectives

Starting from the consideration of Art and Religion in the Idealistic philosophy the relationship between Stendhal and Jerusalem syndromes, which lead to acute transient psychotic episodes in tourists with psychic and somatic symptoms, is examined.

Aims

This work aims to spread the knowledge about the two syndromes, to highlight analogies between them, and finally to summarize and show a possible connection between the modern findings in neuroaesthetics and Stendhal syndrome.

Method

The work is of qualitative type and mainly descriptive: all the existing evidence on the topic and with possible connections to it was brought together, summarised, and compared leading to new possible ideas for the future.

Results

A hypothetical psycho-pathophysiological mechanism is proposed, based on the psychoanalysis, psychology, genetic, and the new findings in neuroaesthetic (especially connected to Stendhal syndrome), but more research is needed.

Conclusion

The influence of Art and Religion culminating in Stendhal syndrome and Jerusalem syndrome, based on their comparison, could be regarded as “tourist syndromes” or as a “tourist's transient psychotic episode” differentiating the object of psychosis as Art in the first and Religion in the second.