Aristotle & Plato:

On Art- The Republic Vs Poetics

Plato divided reality in a fundamental dichotomy; the world of ideals and the world of
matter. The world of ideals is a world of ideas, or abstractions. It is a world where things-in-themselves exist as such. These things are both universal and eternal. The abstraction we know as a chair exists as such only in the world of ideals. The world of ideals advances human knowledge. The world of matter is a world of concrete substances as we experience them through our senses. This world is in actual fact an imitation of the world of ideals. It is a world that is not universal, but particularistic, and not eternal, but prone to destruction. There is no chair but objects that are chairs. Individually these objects are not chair but are only possible to be cognized as such when we use the world of ideals as a grid of intelligibility. The chairness of the chair makes sense as it exists outside the material and concrete substance that represents the given chair. The world of matter or senses does not explicate or advance knowledge. It provides us with limited and confined knowledge that is based on a deceiving perceptive and subjective mode. Art is the imitation of the world of matter. It is therefore lesser real than the world of matter which too is lesser real than the world of ideals. In this sense, art takes us away from reality. It is inherently deceptive and misrepresentive. Plato has three primary critiques of Art 1- Epistemological Art does nothing to increase human knowledge or understanding. In fact, it is misrepresentive of it. 2- Theological Since Art is a lesser reality and mere imitation, it tends to trivialize reality. Divine forms are misrepresented through art. 3- Moral/ Psychological Art is used to manipulate people. Poetry and Rhetoric for example takes people away from knowledge/reality. It tends to reduce and simplify things that are difficult and profound. It takes you away from the truth of things. What matters then is only the attention of the crowd/audience. The competition of ratings on TV can be seen from such a perspective. For

Aristotle

Plato is dear, but truth is dearer.

Platonic Art in Aristotle is problematic. For Aristotle there is no fundamental dichotomy between form (ideals) and matter. The form of a given material substance is the essence of that substance. It is, however, ontologically inseparable from the physically reality of the substance itself. There is no separate realm or world of the world of forms/ideals. The form of the chair is part of the material object of the chair itself. What makes an object an object (essence) is inseparable from the material object itself. In fact, there is no such thing as formless matter. Concrete reality is reality itself. It is thus eternal and cannot be perished. For Plato, the particular is only a manifestation of the universal. We can destroy all chairs but we cannot destroy chair as a fundamental existence (in the world of ideals). For Aristotle, there are no universals, but ONLY particulars. The form of the chair is part of the chair. If all chairs are destroyed then there is no chair we can speak of independently of its material (non-)existence. Imitation for Aristotle is not only natural, it is part and parcel of any learning process. Aristotle points out that Platos primary flaw is to treat Art in metaphysical terms, not in epistemological terms. In actual practice, we imitate in order to teach and understand. We imitate to infer and abstract conceptions about objects. For Aristotle, Tragedy is the supreme form of Art. Tragedy exposes the acting of the actor; it is the peak of expression. It is what appeals the most to our aesthetic sensibilities. Aristotle believes that tragedy refers to concrete reality. We tend to learn from stories/narratives. Especially virtue is only learnable through stories. Scientific explanations (causality) cannot tell us what it means to have courage. Such explanations are insufficient for any inherent understanding of such virtue. Stories however inspire and reveal virtures. Achilles for example is the epitome of virtuous living. Virtue in Aristotle is not about human actions but about human behavior. We are not virtuous by what we do or do not do at given moments, but we are virtuous on merit of being habitually and consistently good. Occasional goods, especially individual conditions, do not make one virtuous. Virtue is a characteristic trait that manifests itself in habitual actions. In Aristotle, there is a trichotomy of human cognitive abilities. 1- Theoria 2- Praxis 3- Poesis Theoria is knowledge in its purest form. It exists independently of us. It is knowledge of pure speculation and id devoid of any physical reference. Theoria is epistemology and it increases knowledge about things. The accumulation of knowledge can only be in a scientific/causal/explanatory mode. Praxis is what refers to the moral and ethical questions of human life. It tells us about the best form of living, the perfect state of living and well-being. Eudemonia, the perfect balance of

peace and bliss, is what Aristotle finds to be the ultimate object of morality/Praxis. Praxis is only acquirable through Narratives. Poesis is imitation. It is the knowledge of Aesthetic and Art. Poesis can only be acquired in the descriptive mode. We cannot understand Poesis without first knowing the previous forms of knowledge. Each category is logically predicated on its predecessors. To value Art, we thus need to know knowledge/episteme (theoria) and Eudemonia (Praxis). Following Episteme and Eudemonia, Aesthetics is the third level of existence. Explanation/Causality indicates four Causes in Aristotle. 1234Material Cause Formal Cause Efficient Cause Final/Teleological Cause

In Aristotle, Art is devoid of a Final Cause. This separates Art from all other things and endeavors. This means that a scientific explanation of Art is intrinsically non-sensical. When we place a goal and final cause to Art (such as Ratings, Money-making, Tourism), turning it into a means and not an end-unto-itself, then we are thus reducing Art into Craft. Craft is the institutionalization of Art, which is intrinsically non-institutionalizable. Creativity, for this reason, in Aristotle, is NOT a teleological conception. It is a highly personal phenomenon. Human beings are autonomous when they are free from external constraints. You have to be autonomous to be creative. Creativity is conditioned with autonomy. Human imagination is infinitely free. - This is also true of our physical reality which restricts our imagination as an external constraint. We thus have to become one with art for the fullest articulation and expression of Artistic capacities. There has to be a unity between the Artist and Art, where the Artist is no longer an external object/constraint outside Art itself. To be Eudemonic is to be Virtuous. It is Happiness with Satisfaction. Desire breeds temptation towards unethical actions. Eudemonia is a state of mind when you are content, and thus go beyond desire. We learn Eudemonia through Stories/Narratives. Ethical theories are pointless if they are not attached to your actual practice. It is in stories that we see both theory (ethical) and practice converge. In Achilles, both theory and practice converge. That is why are able to learn from him. Tragedy is thus the imitation of human action, NOT human thought. Imitation is always in the descriptive mode. In the Explanatory mode, Achilles can be unethical and immoral at times, but in the descriptive mode, he is a virtuous being. It is his understanding his experience where we learn virtue. Our insights into the personal experience only makes us understand morality. A Piece of Art is the description of emotion lived/experienced by the Artist. Description is beyond abstraction. Scientific experience undermines Art.