PHILOSOPHICAL

PERSPECTIVES
ON ART
ART AS IMITATION
• Plato in his masterpiece, The
Republic, particular paints a picture
of artist as imitators and art as mere
imitation.
• In Plato`s metaphysics or view of
reality, the things in the world are
only copies of the original, the
eternal, and the true entities that can
only be found in the WORLD OF
WHAT IS WORLD OF FORMS? BY
PLATO
• Plato's theory of forms asserts that
the physical realm is only a shadow,
or image, of the true reality of the
realm of forms. So, what are these
forms, according to Plato? The
forms are abstract, perfect,
unchanging concepts or ideals that
transcend time and space; they
exist in the realm of forms
Plato was deeply suspicious of arts and artist for
two reason:

*they appeal to emotion rather than to the rational

faculty of men and,
*they imitate rather than lead one to reality
ART ACCORDING TO PLATO
• Art is false knowledge of reality. An artist`s
imitation can deceive common people , not the
philosopher, who knows the essence of reality or the
real being of things.
• Art is dangerous because it provides a petty
replacement for the real entities that can only be
attained through reason.
 ART AS
REPRESENTATION
ART AS REPRESENTATION
• Aristotle, agreed with Plato that art is a form of
imitation.
• However, Aristotle considered art as an aid to
philosophy in revealing the truth
• The kind of imitation that art does is not
antithetical to the reacting of fundamental truths
in the world.
 ART AS REPRESENTATION
• Unliked Plato who thought that artis an imitation of
another imitation . Aristotle, conceived of art as
representing possible versions of reality.
• For Aristotle, all kinds of art do not aim to represent
reality as it is, it endeavors to provide a version of
what might be or the myriad possibilities of reality
ART AS REPRESENTATION
• In Aristotle worldview, art serves two particular
purposes;
*Art allows for the experience of pleasure (homble
experience can be made an object of humor)
*Art also has an ability to be instructive and teach
its audience things about life( cognitive)
ART AS DISINTERESTED
JUDGEMENT
ART AS DISINTERESTED JUDGEMENT

• In the third critique of Immanuel

Kant wrote " critique of
judgement" ,Kant considered the
judgement of beauty.
• Kant recognize d that judgement of
beauty is subjective.
•ACCORDING TO KANT, FINE ART FOLLOWS
TWO PARADOXES:

1. A way of presenting that is purposive on its own

and that furthers, even though without a purpose,
the culture of our mental powers to social
communication .
2. It must have the look of nature even though we
are conscious of it as art.
EXAMPLE
 ART AS A
COMMUNICATION OF
EMOTION
LEO TOLSTOY
ART AS A COMMUNICATION OF EMOTION
• Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian novelist, essayist, and philosopher. He is
considered one of the greatest authors of all time. He is best known for his novels war
and peace, and anna Karenina, which are considered masterpieces of literature. He was
also a Christian philosopher who believed that art should serve a moral purpose,
promote virtue, and be accessible to all people, regardless of their social class. For him,
art plays a huge role in communication to its audience's emotions that the artist
previously experienced. Art then serves as a language, a communication device that
articulates feelings and emotions that are otherwise unavailable to the audience. In the
same way that language communicates information to other people, art communicates
emotions. In listening to music, in watching an opera, and in reading poems, the
audience is at the receiving end of the artist communicating his feelings and emotions.
WHAT IS ART? BY LEO TOLSTOY
• What is art? Is a book written
by Russian author Leo
Tolstoy and published in
1896. It is considered to be
one of the most influential
and important works of
literary criticism ever written.
• Tolstoy is fighting for the social dimension of art. As a
purveyor of man's innermost feelings and thoughts, art
is given a unique opportunity to serve as a mechanism
for social unity. Art is central to man's existence
because it makes accessible feelings and emotions of
people from the past and present, from one continent
to another. In making these possibly latent feelings and
emotions accessible to anyone in varied time and
location, art serves as a mechanism of cohesion for
everyone. Thus, even at present, one can commune
with early Cambodians and their struggles by visiting
the Angkor wat or can definitely feel for the early
royalties of different Korean dynasties by watching
Korean dramas. Art is what allows for these
possibilities.