Methodological basis of the relationship between art and medicine

Vitaly S. Polikarpov, Elena V. Polikarpova. Methodological basis of the relationship between art and medicine. Cardiometry; Issue No. 29; November 2023; p. 67-73; DOI: 10.18137/cardiom-etry.2023.29.67-73; Available from: issues/no29-november-2023/methodological-basis-relationship

At present, the dynamically developing world is characterized by trends in its aestheticization and technicalization, which have a significant impact on human health in the context of the degradation of modern rich civilizations in the West, East and Russia, accompanied by the growth of physical and psychological pathologies. Modern society (technogenic civilization) is fundamentally different from a traditional society with its predominantly physical activity in that it is a “sedentary society” due to its automation and computerization. After all, the largest organ system in the human body is all the muscles, which occupy 40% of the weight and provide movement of the body. Muscles have their own communication system, always function together, and are one of the most complex organ systems after the nervous system; therefore, moving and strengthening muscles is good for health. It is muscle atrophy that entails many diseases: heart attacks, strokes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseas- es, diabetes, etc. [1]. Along with the negative consequences for human health due to a lack of physical movement, there is a degradation of mental health (a significant increase in mental pathologies: neuroses, psychoses, autism, indifference, insensitivity, emotional devastation, nightmarish visions of disasters, etc.) of representatives of technogenic civilization, primarily Americans and Europeans by virtue of losing the meaning of life. All this is due to the emptiness of human existence under the conditions of a saturated, rich civilization, when the pursuit of wealth, prestige, success, high social status leads to the destruction of the individual, which, according to Western thinker S. Zizek, takes the form of a “death drive” [2. P. 81].

Now there is a significant actualization of the idea of analytical psychology by C. Jung that certain universal psychological forms are hidden in the collective unconscious of humanity, which were discovered by modern researchers not only in the primitive syncretic ritual-mythological complex, but also in the ancient Egyptian civilization, whose principles lie at the foundation of civilization West. Modern Egyptologist M. Rice convincingly showed that the ancient Egyptians used a single principle of managing their existence: the principle of maintaining an order, stability and the golden ratio (Fibonacci number series), identified with the goddess of justice Maat, the daughter of the supreme god Ra [3]. It is quite logical that in ancient Egyptian art (architecture, dance, music, etc.) the aesthetic canon of harmony in the form of the golden proportion (golden section) has dominated. The golden ratio and the frequency of its use in many cultures and in different eras give reason to believe that it is locked in the human subconscious in order to facilitate an appropriate aesthetic response in a situation of necessary choice [3. P. 43]. The significance of this aesthetic response lies in the fact that it stimulates a person’s creative efforts in the development of civilization, that is, art acts as a capacitor and amplifier of a person’s creative potential, which is organically related to his health.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Scientific research shows that in the Jungian depth psychology, a fundamental place in the collective unconscious is occupied by the complex of the archetype “self”, which represents the trace of the distant past inherent in each of us. This archetype acts as a symbol of the fullness of human potential and the unity of

68 | Cardiometry | Issue 29. November 2023

personality and plays a central role in the management of the psyche [4. P. 153; 5. P. 43; 6]. According to E. Stevens, the “self” has existed for two million years, since already at that time our ancestors had a brain weighing 435-680 grams, which allowed them to create a culture. It is the “self,” containing instincts, accumulated age-old wisdom that lives in the dark labyrinth of the psyche of every person, creates most of the difficulties for him and acts as a mirror of the Universe, helps correct personality flaws thanks to dreams and psychiatry [6]. Moreover, the “self” can be used to understand the psychological basis of war and find ways to avoid the catastrophe of nuclear war.

A more global view of this problem is given in the studies of mythology by J. Campbell, who in the first volume of his fundamental book “Masks of God. Primordial Mythology” substantiates the thesis, according to which a person is not able to establish his place in the Universe without knowledge of a certain mechanism of general inheritance of myth [7]. In addition, J. Campbell uses T. Mann’s thesis that “the past is a bottomless well,” which makes it possible to detect certain structures or traces in human psychosomatics. This makes it possible to find out the origins of myths and rituals (the ritual-mythological system), in order to then use archaeological and ethnological facts to clarify the earliest images of mythological thinking. Here, shamanism played a significant role, containing rituals of dance and music, which are based on the golden ratio, harmony, symmetry of Nature and with the help of which the healing of a sick member of the tribe took place, whose biology and psyche also function thanks to the rhythms of the golden ratio, harmony and symmetry. In other words, Nature and Man are isomorphic to each other in terms of the golden ratio, harmony, disharmony, asymmetry and symmetry, which in its pure form is manifested in shamanic practice as the art of healing, which is supported by modern studies of shamanism, the peculiarity of which is that it takes place in unusual, ecstatic states, in alternative states of consciousness. In this case, the ancient wisdom applies, according to which “like cures like.” It is no coincidence that in America, doctors use shamanism in their practice, which is adequate to the psyche of a city dweller in a metropolis and gives considerable effect [8]. In fact, a person in this kind of shamanic, unusual states of consciousness (trance states) is able to work at rates and levels inaccessible to other individuals, feel the psychophysiological experiences of other people, create lyrical poetry and engage in linguistic creativity, and perform the functions of a psychotherapist.

Based on all this, J. Campbell builds a diagram of the sought-after depths of the fundamental principles of mythological thinking and ritual actions. The first depth (counting from early civilizations) represents the prehistory of the species Homo sapiens (the era of primitive society), dating back up to half a million years, when cannibals first act, then Cro-Magnon sorcerers and artists. A second depth is seen in the study of mysterious calcareous remains that are identified as chimpanzee-like pygmy hunters who lived on the open plains of the Transvaal. The third depth, going beyond the horizon of human existence, is the animal world, with ritual dances among fish, birds, monkeys and bees, similar to the rituals of primitive man [7. P. 8]. It is this scheme of the depths of mythological thinking and patterns of rituals formulated by J. Campbell that serves as the key to the great mysteries not only of the high cultures of the East and West, but also to the secrets of our psyche with all its spontaneous reactions, innermost expectations and obsessive fears [7. P. 8].

Unsolved problems of the human psyche are now the focus of natural science and medical research into consciousness and the brain with the use of the latest technologies. Of significant interest there are the works of the neurophysiologist J. Trombka, who, based on the fundamental position of the physicist G. Stapp, “the holistic nature of quantum mechanics permeates nature” (including consciousness), operates with the concept of the “quantum structure of the soul” as spirituality created by Nature itself. Here the soul is a subject of the psyche that controls the brain as an object in which the influences by the Universe are de facto intertwined [9]. In this case, it is fundamental that the internal (inaccessible to human senses) self reflects (as I. Kant intuitively believed) the deepest structure of Nature, subject to the laws of coherence and decoherence, the golden ratio (Fibonacci sequence of numbers), harmony, symmetry, asymmetry, disharmony, beauty, etc.

Adequate to the current situation in current science is the new methodological approach proposed by the French anthropologist F. Descola to the classification of similarities and differences between man and his environment [10]. In fact, he carried out a radical revolution both in the foundations of humanitarian knowledge and in the field of its application. In fact, F. Descola, at the modern level of scientific research, has carried out a kind of return to the paradigm of anthropology that existed before the creation of the Western European model. The core of the old paradigm was the concept that both people and animals have a “single nature,” which gave the peoples of the planet the opportunity to adapt to a changing environment and recognize themselves therein [10]. This means that the dichotomy “nature - culture” is by no means universal, that it is outdated and that its application in practice now entails many negative sociocultural consequences. From our point of view, culture is an unlikely potential state of Nature, which is sometimes realized in one or another favorable situation.

In this regard, it becomes clear why there are two trends in the history of art: art deals with the eternal and imperishable, and art is ephemeral in nature. The first trend arose in the context of ancient Egyptian civilization, where the goal of any sacral art was to transform the current life of a person into an eternal one (first of all, the pharaoh, then all other categories of society), which is expressed in architecture with its artistic canon based on the golden proportion [11 S. 359]. The second trend is clearly manifested in Japanese art, which is an exceptional phenomenon, because each of its works is an internal meditation, comprehension of beauty and filling the human psyche with it. The Japanese artist in his work penetrates into the depths of the infinitely small in order to reproduce Nature in its pure form [12]. It should be noted that the ephemeral nature of Japanese art is now manifested in digital art, when the viewer has the opportunity to choose (often interactively) not only the source of artistic information, but also the most appropriate way of organizing it [13. P. 152]. The latest research in the field of psychology of art shows the importance of therapy with the help of traditional and digital art, because now in our civilization there is a fruitful interaction between aestheticization and technicization, covering our entire planet.

In the modern world, one can observe a very surprising phenomenon: a combination of medicine of the East and West is taking place, which gives rise to the phenomenon of “Medicine III”, demonstrating the high effectiveness of the use of new medicine associated with art. The new paradigm “Medicine III” was introduced into scientific life relatively recently and absorbed the fragmented models and directions of medical treatment theory and practice and healing existing in modern culture in their traditionally Western and Eastern understandings. Let us note the fact that it fits into the general context of the developing crisis phase of the bifurcation of humanity. Having analyzed the current situation with medicine in the context of synergetics, a number of researchers have formulated the following outline of “Medicine III”: this medicine is an evolutionary medicine that is adequate to the global-evolutionary side of human life, it is holistic in nature, because it considers the individual in the fullness of all his psychological and spiritual aspects, because it is multidimensional and open in nature, because it is actually based on sacral traditions, especially on eastern healing practices, because it is “medicine of the meeting”, paths, medicine of the paradigm of self-organization, dialogue and temporality” [14. P. 508]. In other words, Medicine III is a synergetic medicine that has absorbed the ideas of systemic and cybernetic approaches with their concept of feedback. Moreover, Medicine III is based on the concept of autopoiesis of the Chilean neurophysiologists Varela and Maturana, the concept of fractality and the epistemological conclusions of quantum mechanics, which turns it into “quantum medicine”. As a result, “Medicine III” is “medicine of life”, therapy of “culture, mind, soul and body of a person in their indissoluble organic integrity” [14. P. 509].

An important methodological basis for the relationship between art and medicine in the context of the C. Jung’s analytical psychology, where the concept of “self” plays a fundamental role, is the theory of catastrophes. The essence of the theory of catastrophes through the apparatus of topology was clearly demonstrated by the French mathematician R. Thomas: the Universe is a continuous chain of “birth, development and destruction of forms” [15]. This fundamental conclusion was made by him through the study of the dynamics of forms in biology, human labor activity, the functioning of his consciousness, in art, computer science, which are catastrophic in nature. According to the latest scientific research, the Universe (Nature) has a quantum nature and is in a state of expansion, which explains the constantly occurring catastrophes: supernova explosions, collisions of galaxies that generate shock waves, the formation of planets, etc.

Another methodological basis for the relationship between art and medicine is the concept of the Universe as a masterpiece of Baroque art put forward by linguist and neurobiologist T. Chernigovskaya (it should be borne in mind that elements of Baroque art are found in other styles of art). Currently, the role of beauty in scientific research has increased significantly due to a number of circumstances, especially under the influence of the development of synergetics and nonlinear dynamics of systems. The aesthetic sense of beauty is manifested in the very search for mathematical and natural science knowledge, in the experience of the beauty of nature, stimulating the creative imagination [16. P. 37]. Here we are talking about the beauty of fractals (a fractal is a nonlinear structure that retains its similarity despite unlimited changes in scale), the totality of which in modern methodology is qualified as fractal calculus, or a fractal paradigm that covers the hierarchical structure of the world - from the Universe to the microcosm [17]. It is no coincidence that the beauty of computer art fractals, along with traditional forms of art, is considered in modern medicine as a medicine. Art therapy (painting, music, etc.) is carried out in many hospitals and palliative care departments [18]. Considering all this, it becomes clear why C. Jung was deeply interested in human artistic expression, why he always sought to involve his patients in interaction with dream images and actively used the method of active imagination and a variety of artistic creativity. This led to the fact that the Jungian analysts began to widely use almost all types of creative therapy (dance, visual arts, sand therapy, drama, poetry, etc.) [19. P.7]. Moreover, they are increasingly using music not just as therapy, but as archetypal musical psychotherapy, which allows effective access to the unconscious processes of the human psyche.

RESULTS AND ITS DISCUSSION

This study, for the first time in the philosophical literature, shows the philosophical and methodological significance of the relationship between art and medicine from the position of the fundamental concept of “self” in the analytical psychology of C. Jung, which underlies the unconscious set of civilizations of the East and West, which allows us to put forward a hypothesis about the importance of art in giving the life of a person of high meaning. It is quite logical that the concept of “self” is considered from different points of view, expressed in such methodological approaches as the paradigm of the fractal world, T. Chernigovskaya’s concept of the Universe in the form of a masterpiece of Baroque art, the theory of catastrophe as applied to the relationship between art and medicine, ritual and mythological the origins of the interpretation of art as a means of human healing, paradigm of Medicine III, the concept of quantum medicine, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the significance of C. Jung’s analytical psychology in art therapy. In this case, the existence of a certain analogy between the depth psychology of C. Jung and the picture of modern cyclic quantum cosmology is of particular interest. According to this picture, during the collapse of the Universe, nanohertz gravitational waves arise, and they turn out to be relict gravitational radiation, similar to relict electromagnetic radiation. Studies of this relict nanohertz gravitational radiation have shown that it is “a window into the very heart of the Big Bang and even into past cycles of the Universe” [20. P. 14]. In other words, relict nanohertz gravitational radiations carry with them information about the chain of Universes, which can be deciphered by us.

Indeed, there is a consonance in this case with the model of cyclic quantum cosmology and the concept of the highest meaning by C. Jung, which he outlined in the “Red Book”, dating from 1915. C. Jung reflects on the significance of two types of spirit in human life. One spirit is the spirit of modernity, the second one governs the depths of all modernity: one original spirit of the depths, always possessing greater power than the spirit of the current time, changing with generations [21]. In this case, the spirit of the depths of human existence “took away” all the understanding and all the knowledge of C. Jung and put these phenomena in the service of the inexpressible and paradoxical, deprived C. Jung of speech and writing, because they do not serve the deep spirit, and fused together meaningfulness and meaninglessness , thereby giving rise to a higher meaning. The significance of the highest meaning lies in the fact that it represents the path and bridge to the one who is coming: what is coming is not the coming of God himself, but his image, which will appear in the highest sense of the word, the image of which man must worship. “The highest meaning is neither sense nor absurdity, it is image and power in one, attractiveness and strength [21]. Consequently, the highest meaning represents the beginning and end of all things, therefore, from the position of the spirit of the depths, a man is an image of the endless world, all the former mysteries of formation live in a man. It is no coincidence that K. Jung coins the following formula for human existence: “This life is a path, a long-sought path to the immeasurable, which we call divine, all other paths are false” [21]. Thus, human life, according to K. Jung, is a long path to the immeasurable divine, to God, who is infinite Nature as an inexhaustible chain of Universes.

It is clear that man’s long journey as an odyssey in the endless artistic model of the Universe is accompanied by various disasters that a man is able to use for his own purposes. In this case, the recently emerged unconventional branches of physics and mechanics of shock waves, which are observed in a wide variety of media, from nuclear matter to galaxy clusters, are of significant importance. In terms of our topic, the petawatt lasers being created deserve attention, which can be used for hadron therapy [22. P. 150]. Nowadays, the method of laser therapy, which is color therapy, has become widespread, because one or another laser wavelength has its own color in a specific treatment of a person, prescribed depending on knowledge of his personality. Exactly the same algorithm for diagnosing and treating an individual is used in pharmacology, in which the success of treatment is determined by the result of an informal analysis of his life. The point here is that laser radiation has been established by modern astrophysics: in giant gas-dust clouds, laser radiation, due to its musical structure, contributes to the birth of stars in our Galaxy. As you know, a person is the “ash” of exploding supernovae, so he/she carries in his/her body the archetypes of the music of laser radiation. It is clear that in practice it is knowledge of the special accents of a given individual: his/her interest in music, fine arts, literature that plays a crucial role in choosing the optimal therapy for a particular individual [23]. It is quite logical that there is a deep connection between the laser radiation of space systems and various art therapy systems.

The most interesting thing is that the use of lasers in medicine to treat a number of diseases correlates with the DNA computing paradigm, revealing a new promising direction at the interface of computer science and molecular biology [24]. After all, DNA is the carrier of the genetic code, whose elegant double helix of chromosomal strands at the biochemical level obeys the laws of beauty in accordance with the aesthetics of physics and biochemistry. However, quite recently, M. Nikitin, a scientist at Sirius University and MIPT, made a unique discovery (a new fundamental law) in the field of DNA information storage. Until now, it was believed that DNA stores and processes information through the structure of a double helix - complementary molecular chains, which allowed scientists to use