🧵Thread on Aristotle, art and poetry, based on his book Poetics.
The below quote is from Will Durant as he attempts to encapsulate Aristotle's view on art:
Discussion
Aristotle studied at Plato's Academy in Athens, which brings continuity from Socrates -> Plato -> Aristotle.
Plato:
'And when someone honors beauty more than virtue, this constitutes nothing other than a real and thorough dishonoring of the soul'
/ Plato, Laws, Book B, 727d.
Socrates and Plato held an often times contemptful view of the poet or artist, expressed at several occasions in Plato's Republic.
This is likely because the artist was viewed as an imitator. Reality is of course of higher value than any imitation. Add to this that Socrates was ridiculed by contemporary poets.
Aristotle:
'What aims at reality is better than what aims at appearance'.
/ Aristotle, Rhetoric, Book I, 1365-b.
From this we can see a clear difference between Plato and Aristotle. Plato is mainly concerned with ethics, whereas Aristotle is more analytical in regards to substance. Aristotle also values ethics highly, but he is interested in studying matters deeper.
Aristotle continues:
'What a man wants to be, is better than what a man wants to seem (to be), for in aiming at that he is aiming more at reality'.
Here Plato would focus on the ethical reasoning of being rather than seeming, while Aristotle is primarily concerned with alignment to reality.
'And it is also natural for all to delight in works of imitation.'
/ Aristotle, Poetics, Chap 3, 1448-b-9
Aristotle's remark here relates to delighting in realistic representations of things. He points out that we learn something from observing a realistic imitation. Aristotle continues by observing that learning is the 'greatest of pleasures'.
I wrote a thread on Aristotle and art some weeks ago. If it doesn't show then at least it's visible on Nostrgram.
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