Katharsis means cleansing. In the Phaedo, Socrates describes philosophy as the purification of the soul from the body. Plotinus taught that the virtues are purifications, and Christian writers named the first stage of the mystical path purgation. Aristotle used the word for the effect of tragedy.
Catharsis
Purification: in Plato and the Neoplatonists, the cleansing of the soul from the body’s passions.
Also: katharsis, purification