Plato Vs. Aristotle on Art Essay - 1997 Words

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†¦show more content†¦Here, he is a believer in those who use knowledge to understand nature in reality and is against people who use their senses through art to understand the beauty of nature. In addition, Plato says artists promote the use of our senses over reason through something they do not have an experience of. According to Plato, â€Å"There are philosophers, who form an idea, then a craftsperson, who makes the physical representation of the idea, and then the poor artist who creates a copy of a copy of that idea† (Blocker 5). In this sense, an artist has no clue what he is creating because his works are only imitations of other people’s ideas. Therefore, Plato considered artists to be dangerous in the human society because they are not experts in the representations they create. Plato takes an addition step at making fun of artists when he stresses people’s role in the great society. He despises an artist’s existence in a great society because he believes each individual should master only one skill in life. Plato believes there are three classes that one can belong in. One can be a provider, a guardian, or a ruler. According to Plato, each class has its own unique characteristic th at helps create this great society. He explained providers bring the necessary goods to keep the society alive such as food, water, and shelter. Guardians are brave and honorableShow MoreRelatedViolence in the Arts Ââ€" Plato vs. Aristotle Essay1285 Words   |  6 PagesViolence in The Arts Ââ€" Plato vs. Aristotle Nowadays, it is hard to turn on a television program, catch a movie or buy your younger sibling a video game without encountering a warning for extreme violence. Everyday, our lives are exposed to violence on the screen, whether it is in the latest Sopranos episode or even watching the six oclock news. 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