Plato's Ideas about Art
What is the place of art in Plato's ideal state? In both the
Plato defended art that imitated Ideal realities, not the photographic imitation of that which can be sensed and individual experiences. He wrote in the
Attack on Art
Plato's attack on art is that it often presents images that stimulate illusory ideas in the viewer. If people know only these images, they will have a distorted view of the way things really are. The watercolor image of the Empire State Building, the movie that only gives a rough approximation of its bio subject — these fail as works of art because they are so far from the reality they seek to depict.
In Book X of the Republic Plato spells out what he thinks is wrong with painting and poetry. Both kinds of artists are ignorant of the true nature of their subjects. Defenders of art respond that one can be ignorant and still be a splendid poet. But Plato says ignorance of medicine is inconsistent with being regarded as an expert doctor, but Homer's ignorance shows that one can be a poet without being knowledgeable.
In the earlier dialogues, Socrates contends that the poets lack wisdom, but he also grants that they “say many fine things.” But by the time of the
Why is Plato so opposed to works of art, especially poetry? Since poetic imitation can be accomplished without appeal to the facts, it cannot be an imitation of a thing's true nature.