iA comparison between Aristotle and Plato on mimesis
1. Introduction
Mimesis, as a controversial concept starting from the 15th century, is among the oldest terms in literature and artistic theory, and is certainly among the most fundamental. Developing centuries, the concept of mimesis has been explored and reinterpreted by scholars in various academic fields. The word “Mimesis” developed from the root mimos, noun designating both a person who imitates and a specific genre of performance based on the limitation of stereotypical character traits. Very little is known about “mimesis” until the ancient Greek Philosopher Plato provided the first and unquestionably the most influential account of mimesis. In his wide-ranging work of the
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The first three chapters of the Poetics make a distinction among the media, the objects and the manner of mimesis for the different representation of arts. In each case, Aristotle modifies a distinction from Plato, or introduces a distinction where Plato fails to make one. The medium of imitation concerns the “materials” each art uses to represent people and objects. For Plato, poetry and painting, epic and tragedy are essentially the same in their imitation of the real because they are all imitative works. Aristotle, by contrast, differentiate arts by the material they employ, like painters use figure or color, musicians melody and rhythm, and poets rhythm and meter. These arts all mimetic, but they imitate with different tools, or use the same tools in different combinations. Therefore, rather than being a mere imitator, the artist is a maker, a craftsman. Also, Aristotle points out that many works use the same media as poetry does, but are not for that reason becomes poems: Greek medical and scientific treatises were typically written in poetic meters, but the mere use of meter does not entitle the scientists “poet”. Thus, it is the imitation that makes the poet, not the rhetorical form of the work. Though imitative, poetry has its own proper methods and aims, not just a diminished version of science of philosophy.
2.2.3 Objects of imitation Aristotle considered that the objects of imitation are man in action, a notion
A less theoretical definition of poetry is, “putting the best words in the best possible order.” A poet may incorporate the theory as follows. The poet may astutely choose words possibly with a double meaning in order to indirectly convey a message, evoke emotions, or to slander. Then, the poet may unconventionally place such words and phrases perhaps out of expected order for the sake of creating a “word picture,” emphasizing the speaker’s feelings, or offering tangibility to the poem. By implementing this idea onto poetic works, the poet will have auspiciously written a superb poem. This theory may be applied to a few of Catullus’s poems specifically “Carmen 5”, “Carmen 8”, and “Carmen 85.” Catullus’s meticulous choice of words and arrangement highlight the central focus of the poem, obliquely criticize traditional Roman law, manipulate the audience’s attitude, transmit the speaker’s emotions, paint “word pictures,” and offer symbolic meaning consequently producing a successful poem.
Aristotle argues that in order for a polis to emerge, a union between man and women must convene. Later a household must be introduced which unites with other households to form a village, villages come together to form city-states. This theory is Aristotle’s natural view that an individual can not be self sufficient Plato argues that, in order to achieve absolute justice, a city-state is needed.
Plato encouraged in his writings that the view that sophists were concerned with was “the manipulative aspects of how humans acquire knowledge.” (Lecture) Sophists believed that only provisional or probable knowledge was available to humans but both Plato and Isocrates did not agree with a lot of what the Sophists had to say. They both believed in wisdom and having a connection with rhetoric but vary in defining wisdom in itself. Wisdom for Socrates and Plato is having an understanding of speech, knowledge of truth and being able to question the speaker in order to seek and reveal truth. Isocrates defined wisdom as having a sense of integrity and character along with the ambition and ability to speak well with others.
Excellence is a function which renders excellent the thing of which it is a function is Plato’s definition of virtue. What does this definition really mean though? Plato and Aristotle both had their own unique arguments devoted to the topic at hand, and their own ways of describing what virtue really is. Defining virtue may seem to be an easy taste, but to truly understand the arguments behind the definition can prove to be very challenging.
In ancient Greece two great written philosophers lived. First there was Plato and then Aristotle. Aristotle was a pupil of Plato. Despite being taught by Plato they had different theories and views. Their ethics were very typical and traditional of ancient Greece but Aristotle detailed virtue ethics and the path to happiness. Plato’s political theories for a utopian society varied from Aristotle’s view of ‘best state for each society’. Their metaphysical theories are complete opposites and very contradicting. Even though Plato and Aristotle came from the same era and were closely linked they had very different philosophies.
Aristotle’s view was that art should not focus on a message but rather the elements i.e. language, harmony, rhyme, thought, song, character, plot, and diction in order to satisfy the audience 's expectations. Therefore, art is a means to an end.
By the end of the classical age, Greek sculptors had reached perfection in form and movement. This meet “Aristotle’s idea of excellence as the exercise of human will dominate by reason” (Fiero, 2006).
To understand the form, we must go to the background of each philosopher’s perspective on what form represents. The form is what helps us understand the essence of things and how they are particular to what we see on our daily basis. Plato’s view on form is as essence itself a thing that doesn’t change and always keeps its universal form. Aristotle’s view on form is particular, it is an individual characteristic that helps the conformation of something. Aquinas’s view on form is in its essence itself it is connected with matter. This paper will show how each philosopher’s perspective of form connects with each other and resemble the f-ness on it.
This portrayal of emotions, of the inferior part of the soul, in Plato’s beliefs, “awakens and nourishes and strengthens the feelings and impairs the reason.” (41) Plato considers this indulgence irrational and useless. The superior and rational person (the ideal statesman) would pride himself on the opposite qualities and in times of sorrow or passion would suppress urges to openly sorrow or indulge in pleasures. Summing up Plato’s philosophy, the imitative artist is a long way from the truth and can write or paint any and all things because he does not know about the subjects he creates; he denies the rational principle of the soul and overly indulges in emotion resulting in the neglect of justice and virtue, (45) and has not found a proper purpose in the ideal state.
With the Imitation theory “IT”, Danto is disagreeing with Socrates in that art is not just mere imitation. Socrates believed that art, like a mirror, shows us a duplicate and accurate image of the appearance of something. However, Danto does not agree completely with this imitation theory because if it were true then, “mirror images are art.” Danto goes on to say that a lot of artists did try to imitate nature in art, but with the invention of photography “mimesis was quickly discarded.” The goal of art being to imitate then was incorrect.
Plato was among the most important and creative thinkers of the ancient world. He was born in Athens in 428 BC to an aristocratic and well-off family. Even as a young child Plato was familiar with political life because his father, Ariston was the last king of Athens. Ariston died when Plato was a young boy. However, the excessive Athenian political life, which was under the oligarchical rule of the Thirty Tyrants and the restored democracy, seem to have forced him to give up any ambitions of political life. In 388 BC he journeyed to Italy and Sicily, where he became the friend of Dionysius the ruler of Syracuse, and his brother-in-law Dion. The following year he returned to Athens, where he devoted his
We have two great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. These are great men, whose ideas have not been forgotten over years. Although their thoughts of politics were similar, we find some discrepancies in their teachings. The ideas stem from Socrates to Plato to Aristotle. Plato based moral knowledge on abstract reason, while Aristotle grounded it on experience and tried to apply it more to concrete living. Both ways of life are well respected by many people today.
In order to compare these great philosophers, it is important that we first of all view their history from an individual perspective.
Comparing the political theories of any two great philosophers is a complex task. Plato and Aristotle are two such philosophers who had ideas of how to improve existing societies during their individual lifetimes. While both Plato and Aristotle were great thinkers, perhaps it is necessary first to examine the ideas of each before showing how one has laid the groundwork and developed certain themes for the other.
For over two thousand years, various philosophers have questioned the influence of art in our society. They have used abstract reasoning, human emotions, and logic to go beyond this world in the search for answers about arts' existence. For philosophers, art was not viewed for its own beauty, but rather for the question of how art and artists can help make our society more stable for the next generation. Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived during 420-348 B.C. in Athens, and Aristotle, Plato’s student who argued against his beliefs, have no exceptions to the steps they had to take in order to understand the purpose of art and artists. Though these two philosophers made marvelous discoveries about the existence of art, artists, and