Why did Plato not like artists?

Plato saw the truth as the key to a good life and a good society. He saw art as a false representation of life and reality and felt it influences people in a manner which leads them away from truth. Hence the condemnation.

What did Plato say about Homer?

Plato agrees that Homer is indeed the educator of Greece, and immediately adds that Homer is “the most poetic and first of the tragic poets.” Plato is setting himself against what he takes to be the entire outlook—in contemporary but not Plato’s parlance, the entire “philosophy of life”—he believes Homer and his …

What is Plato theory of imitation?

Plato and Aristotle spoke of mimesis as the re-presentation of nature. According to Plato, all artistic creation is a form of imitation: that which really exists (in the “world of ideas”) is a type created by God; the concrete things man perceives in his existence are shadowy representations of this ideal type.

What is Plato’s criticism of Homer?

First, Plato objects that Homer’s myths have no regard for the truth (5.1). Second, Plato rejects Homer’s heroes for thinking that death as the worst fate; but death does not hold such terror for those who know that the cosmos is so ordered that no evil can befall a good man—if not in this life, then in the next (5.2).

Why is Plato’s poetry wrong?

As a moralist, Plato disapproves of poetry because it is immoral, as a philosopher he disapproves of it because it is based in falsehood. He is of the view that philosophy is better than poetry because philosopher deals with idea / truth, whereas poet deals with what appears to him / illusion.

Does Plato believe that poets are creative and talented individuals?

Plato believed that great souls and creative talents produce “offspring” which can be enjoyed by others: wisdom, virtue, poetry, art, temperance, justice, and the law (340s BC) —wisdom and virtue in general. And such creators are poets and all artists who are deserving of the name inventor.

What does Plato say about art and reality?

To summarise, says Hursthouse, Plato seems to be saying that art cannot represent reality because it is only a mirror, reflecting what is not, in any case, reality. We can strive towards enlightenment through seeking truth by depicting in artistic representation what is good and is, therefore, a reflection of beauty and moral truth.

Is Plato setting himself against popular culture as he knew it?

And since Homer shaped the popular culture of the times, Plato is setting himself against popular culture as he knew it. Not just that: the quarrel is not simply between philosophy and Homer, but philosophy and poetry.

Can art ever truly represent reality?

Art can never truly represent reality, for life itself, of which art is merely a copy, does not represent reality, according to Plato.

What is Plato’s quarrel with Homer?

Not just that: the quarrel is not simply between philosophy and Homer, but philosophy and poetry. Plato has in his sights all of “poetry,” contending that its influence is pervasive and often harmful, and that its premises about nature and the divine are mistaken.