Art as a Representation

Reporter : Ramos, Shondhale T.

BIT 2-C
Aristotle, Plato's
most important
student in
philosophy, agreed
with his teacher
that

"art is a form of
imitation".
However, Aristotle
considered art as "
"an aid to
philosophy in
revealing truth".
Aristotle (1902) in
the Poetics
claimed
that poetry is a
literary
representation in
general.
• For Aristotle , all kinds of art including poetry,
music, dance, painting, and sculpture, do not aim
to represent reality as it is.
• What art endeavórs to do is to provide a
vision of what might be or the myriad
possibilities in reality.
• Unlike Plato who thought that art is an
imitation of another imitation, Aristotle
concelved of art as representing Possible
versions of reality.
Aristotelian worldview
• First, art allows for the experience of pleasure.
• Secondly, art also has an ability to be instructive
and teach its audience, things about life: thus, it is
cognitive as well.