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Aristotle's view on art
Aristotle's view on art
Art according to plato
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First, Plato believed that ideas are the realist things in the world. What we see in our daily life is not reality; sense perceptions are only appearances. And appearances are unreliable material copies of the immaterial pure ideas. Thus to him the world of the ideas is reasonable and fixed and holds the truth. While the world of physical appearances is variable and irrational, and it only bears reality to the extent that it succeeds in capturing the idea. To live the best life that you can and to be happy and do good, as a person you have to strive to understand and imitate the ideas as best as you can. So, with this philosophy in mind we can understand why Plato considered art as just a mindless pleasure. He viewed art as just an imitation. …show more content…
Let us start with some similarities between the two that will lead us to understand why Aristotle deviated from Plato’s beliefs on the arts. Both of these thinkers believed in the idea or the unchanging rational essence, which shapes everything we know. To them, nothing can be understood without understanding the idea or form of it. Aristotle however was more tolerant towards art and tried to rationalize the tragedies, for example, rather than reject them as Plato did. Even though, he did not explicitly say that he was countering Plato’s theories about art, in his writings that was what he …show more content…
Let us start with some similarities between the two that will lead us to understand why Aristotle deviated from Plato’s beliefs on the arts. Both of these thinkers believed in the idea or the unchanging rational essence, which shapes everything we know. To them, nothing can be understood without understanding the idea or form of it. Aristotle however was more tolerant towards art and tried to rationalize the tragedies, for example, rather than reject them as Plato did. Even though, he did not explicitly say that he was countering Plato’s theories about art, in his writings that was what he did. First, Aristotle contested Plato’s belief that a person is either rational or emotional, split between a half animal and half divinity and that one should only strive to be logical. Instead, Aristotle saw the fault in this theory and believed that there is no such thing as two irreconcilable parts but that all the faculties interacted together. Mainly all we do uses the mind, and it is impossible to separate a rational part from the emotional. And so it is incorrect to say that art appeals solely to emotion but not reason because they two are connected. All our brain is thoroughly
Plato and Aristotle alike were two men who had ideas on ways to improve existing society. Plato, a political philosopher, was in the pursuit of philosophical truth (Hacker 114). Aristotle was concerned with the citizen and the design of political institutions (Hacker 114). They both had well thought out ideas and plans on how to build a better society. Both Aristotle and Plato have had a tremendous impact on political scientists of today. Aristotle helped to develop some democratic ideas. In conclusion these men were great thinkers. Their opinions on society and its functions were quite different, but they both had the same intention, to build a better way of life for the societies they lived in and for the societies that would come to be in the future.
Though Plato was Aristotle’s teacher, their ideas could not differ more in relation to Doryphoros. While Plato would feel that it is worthless, Aristotle would feel that it is very valuable to the process of learning more about our very natures. The duality of their opinions is very similar to the duality we can see in Doryphoros mentioned above. Plato was on a kind of warpath with creative expression, yet student Aristotle embraced it with calm analysis. In Doryphoros we see their opinions in juxtaposition to one another. If nothing else, Doryphoros expresses the masculine, logical side of human nature with near effortlessness.
Aristotle and Plato both believed that there were forces at work in nature which were beyond sight and not of the physical world and eternally present. What we call philosophy is really a second philosophy, due to these unseen forces. Plato, one of the world’s greatest philosophers, once had a ground breaking idea. He came forth with the idea of the Forms. These Forms were perfect and unchanging. Everything else in existence took various qualities from the Forms and used them to create their own shapes and purposes. There was one Form, however, that stood above all the rest. The Form of the Good. This is where Aristotle, Plato’s kindred student, related his idea of God to. Through reason and facts and many similarities, it is proven in great detail that these two ideas are one in the same. In addition to Plato and Aristotle, Istvan Bodnar make this claim:
Aristotle, a student of Plato, is known for his contributions in many fields of philosophy, ethics being one of the most prominent. He produced the first methodical and collected ethical system to be produced by an ancient Greek philosopher, found in his book the Nicomachean Ethics. This, along with the less-read Eudemian Ethics, are his ethical accounts that we have today.
...fferences in their theories outweigh their similarities, while Aristotle and Descartes share many of the same beliefs. Plato sees the public as incapable of knowledge beyond our own reality whereas Descartes, Aristotle and I explain that everyone has the ability to learn. Plato believed in unchanging forms in another realm while the others found knowledge in our existing world. Aristotle and Descartes’ explanations about acquiring knowledge were through much simpler tasks. Aristotle differed from the others because he trusted his senses in learning while Plato and Descartes shared the same idea and were skeptical of senses for being unreliable. Descartes also believed that mathematics had procedures that were able to prove ideas. In conclusion, the theories about knowledge and epistemology will continue for years to come because uncertainty will always exist.
Since Aristotle was a student of Plato, there are definitely some similarities between the two. Both of them attempted to describe what it means to be virtuous as a human being. Possessing virtue as a human is a necessity in life and determines how we behave towards ourselves and others. Acting on and reacting to the circumstances of life is how we spend our time here on Earth. The virtues that we possess
In the School of Athens, Raphael portrayed the splendid scenes of philosophers, scientists and artists in this school. The school of Athens was set up by Plato, who is the ancient Greek idealistic philosopher. The central side of the picture is Plato and his disciple Aristotle, who have intense discussions. Although Plato's teacher, Socrates, was no longer alive when he founded the Academy of Athens, however, Raphael drawn Socrates in the left of a group of characters, to show the hierarchy of philosophy. Different gestures of them illustrated different idea on philosophy. Plato stretched out his finger pointing on the above represents the idealism
Plato’s ideas. There are many different aspects of Greek art that can be accredited to Plato
Plato and Aristotle are two rhetoricians than had a great impact on the history of rhetoric. Although they were similar in many ways, their use and definition of rhetoric were different. Plato had the more classical approach where he used rhetoric as a means of education to pass down his beliefs and practice of rhetoric to his students. He believed that it should be used to educate the masses, provoking thought, and thereby preserving that knowledge. Plato thought that rhetoric should be used to convey truth, truths already known to the audience, revealed through that dialectic critical thought. Plato also operated on absolute truths, things that are right or wrong, black or white. Aristotle was more modern in that he used rhetoric as a tool of persuasion in the polis. He thought that the main purpose of rhetoric was to persuade, provoking emotions for his audience as a tool of persuasion. Aristotle’s rhetoric was more science based, using enthymemes and syllogism to foster logical thinking. He believed that rhetoric was a means of discovering truth. His rhetoric was highly deliberative since he used it mainly for persuasion. I will discuss their differences in more depth in the following essay.
Thirdly, Plato and Aristotle hold contrasting views on the mechanism of finding the truth. Plato relied on the ability to reason in his attempt to explain the world. He produced his ideal world based on reason since such a world lies beyond the realm of the five senses. Plato ignored his senses because he believed his senses only revealed the imperfect forms of the ordinary world.
When Plato deceased, Aristotle went from Platonism to empiricism. He went to this new teaching because he believed everything was based on perception. His teachings influenced the Renaissance where his teachings were expanding world-wide. Aristotle’s change to empiricism had one of the greatest impacts on his teachings.
Aristotle was a student of Plato and eventually became one of the most influential philosophers of all time. Aristotle believed that everything on this earth has a goal or a purpose. As he stated “Every art aims for a good, as does every inquiry, every action, every choice. ”He believed that the reason why human beings do all the things that
Aristotle and Plato differ in their ideas of how society should be run. In Plato’s ideal society, he believes that a strong city is one run by philosophers. The only ones of this society who think, who have reason and wisdom according to the Allegory of the Metals. In a just city according to Plato, people have a place like certain kids destined for the guardianship so they are born and bred for it all their life. Aristotle saw politics as the study of association and constitution. He believed in moderation and a key to a happy life and a happy society is balance. Plato as a political philosopher tries to create what he thinks is a perfect society for philosophers and philosophers only. Aristotle as a political scientist sees it more on the
Philosophers Plato and Aristotle had different views on music. Plato believed that the right kind of music engaged the mind and enhanced temperance and courage within a human being. Aristotle held that the addition of music heightened the theatrical experience for the viewer.
It can create a bias in the evaluation of art, but can also add meaning. In the first instance, a picture drawn by a child of her family, scribbled with crayons on construction paper, would not be called fine art objectively. However, the child’s mother knows the intention of the girl, is aware of the home environment, and can gain enjoyment, if not from the art then from the mindset of the girl who produced the art. Personal background with art relates to John Dewey’s explanation of how art ought to be understood. In his discussion of Art as Experience, Dewey maintains that “to grasp the sources of esthetic experience it is . . . necessary to have recourse to animal life” (10). At a physical level, it is important to understand the environment, surroundings, and motivations in order to fully understand the meaning of a work. Even though the physical art is not a masterpiece, the affection and visualization of family which motivates the creation is understood by the parent, and imbues the work with meaning. It is personal understanding that guides an understanding of what is art on a personal level. Whether one knows the story behind the work or attempt to infer the meaning, the story behind the work is a large part of how an individual designates art that is pleasing. Aristotle understood the potential for art to be cathartic, which is another facet of a