[A/H Index] [^^TIME Line (space/time conveyor)]
Aesthetics - Reading List: Plato
Aesthetics - Reading List: Plato
BEGIN BLOCK QUOTE
Dickie, Geoirge T (1991). "Aesthetics" in Ency. Americana.
Grolier Publishing (Danbury, CT, USA, Terra)
(Dickie, Vol. 1, P. 235)
(b. 428bce, Athens, GR; d. 348/347bce, Athens, GR)
Questions that may be regarded as problems
in of aesthetics occur in several of Plato's
dialogues: Ion, Symposium, Republic, Phaedrus,
Sophist, and Laws. Plato views the practice of
art as craft (techne; texne) that produces
something, but he does not place arts now
regarded as "fine" in a class apart.
According to Plato's theory, the art
product is an imitation (mimesis; )
-- the painter reproduces (imitates) his
[sic] subject on canvas and the dramatist
depicts (imitates) the actions of men [sic]
in his [sic] plays. Because he conceives
of works of art in the light of his theory
of reality [Note 1
These forms are not experienced witht the sense but are known intuitrively by reason. Plato regards them as the real
and the objects of ordinary sense experience of ordinary sense experience as un-real. [Note 2Note 3]
In sayting that art is imitation, Plato
set a preceent that many philosophers
follow even today (this: 1991) in such
theores as "art is expression",
"art is wish full-fillment", and
"art is play". An assumption of Plato,
and of those who agree with him on this
point, is that here is some single
characteristicc (imitation, expression,
or the like ) that is the form or essence
of art and that is present is every work of art.
END BLOCK QUOTE
Thus, we might refer to this "universal"
(and indeed trans-universal) element as
the primal atom of art - the essence of
"art-ness". Interesting chap, Plato, eh?
Come along ducklings,
Setting the co-ords
Guttenburg Project
2010, "Plato" "Ion".
>go
*sd sent
*dsr ready
>tJAUNT!!! (dsestination, determination, ...
http://www.scificonventions.com/
)
And now for our feature presentation....
arrive'
(ahem; mister tonks will you *please* stop doing
that? it only irritates the natives.
also, everyone will please to ignore that
clearly improperly dressed gentlman over
there. That's professor jowette doing
some sort of research. This way, i think...
-[a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1635" target="_blank">ion]-
Notes
(this section only)
[1] One of Plato's main contributions to
philo (prompting Voltaire to say,
"All philosophy begins and ends with Plato")
was the idea of "the alegory of the cave".
In the story, people are bound (chained)
inside a cave and can only judge the outside
world by the shadows that they see on the
floor of the cave in front of them. Thus,
he thought of things like a chair (that we
might see in front of us) as "but" a shadow
of some ideal chair that exists in a sort
of hyper-reality.
See also: "The Matrix" (film)
also: "The Matrix and Philosophy" (book)
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[2] Compare this almost opposite view
of the so-called of metaphysics
that "nothing un-real exists".
("Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (film)
In a sense, this means that an imaginary
IS imaginary because it can NOT exist.
Once something (antthing) exists it thus
ceases to be non-real (imagined only,
postulated only, etc) and hence BECOMES
real.
Technically, it isn't clear if
metaphyics is achronic (outside of time)
or dichronic (existing in/within-in time).
Plato would indicate that time is a non
variable, since ideal things always exist
and thus, we assume (;) have always existed
and will always exist. Hence, the cave and
the viewers within it are un-necessary and
Plato's ideals transcend the anthropic principle
that the universe exists only because (or
in order that) something can perceive it.
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[3] Clearly Plato's impossibility of art ever
"achieving" the idea might be transcended
by the surRealist concept. If we recall that
many artists (eg, Odilon Redon, Salvidor Dali,
Varo Remedios) attempted to contact their
sub-conscious, their dreams, and of course
an "ultra-reality". One can (me thinks) argue
that perhaps in some ways van Gogh was trying
to BE colour and part of this might have been
his madness, or "merely" his intense efforts
at transcending the (perceived) real world.
See also: "The exquisit corpse" (dada creativity game)
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[4]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[5]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[6]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[7]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[8]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[9]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[10]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[11]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[12]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[13]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[14]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[15]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[16]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[17]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[18]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[19]
{Back to the TEXT, above}
[20]
{Back to the TEXT, above}