Plato's and Aristotle's Views on Mimesis

In Greek, mimesis means “imitation” not in the sense of “copying” but in the sense of “representation”. According to Plato and Aristotle, mimesis is the imitation of nature. Plato states that all artistic creations are forms of imitations that exist in the “world of ideas” and created by God. The material things that are perceived are representations of the ideal type or observable reality. Aristotle, in the means of tragedy, points out that mimesis is the imitation of action, a man descending from higher to lower position. Both philosophers believed that mimesis is the imitation of nature; however, there are some contradictions and differences in their beliefs.

In the theory of mimesis, Plato claims that art is imitated by nature, an imitation of life. He says that the “idea” is the reality. Thus, imitation of reality is the art of imitating the idea. His famous example of a carpenter and a chair explains his beliefs better. First, the idea of the chair comes to the carpenter’s mind, then the carpenter gives the chair a physical shape, he ends up creating his idea, the chair. Hence, the carpenter’s chair is being removed from reality, twice. He thinks that philosophy is more important than poetry because philosophy deals with ideas whereas poetry deals with illusion. For Plato, the poet’s imitation is removed from reality twice so their creations are unreal and illusion of truth. Poetry is mimetic as philosophy is, but Plato denies poetry because it is only mimetic in philosophical and moral grounds, meaning that imitation of poetry can make the best men feel sad, sorrowful, and depressed. Some can say that it is normal, but in those times, the stated feelings were feminine and were not appropriate for men being sentimental. Also, Plato says that poets can depict the gods in inappropriate ways.

On the other hand, according to Aristotle, the imitation of poetry is an imitation of action, it is neither philosophical nor moral. In his opinion, poetry is not a book of teaching or preaching, it is a piece of art. Aristotle agrees with his teacher Plato, in the means of calling a poet an imitator. A poet imitates what is present or past, what is generally believed, and what is ideal. In other words, a poet imitates things as they are/were, things as they are thought/said to be, or things they ought to be. However, Aristotle does not agree with Plato in a poet’s imitation is an illusion of truth. He compares poetry with history; poetry is more philosophical and a higher subject than history because history expresses the specific while poetry expresses the universal. To prove his point, he explains the difference between poetry and history; a poet describes “what may or ought to have happened”, a historian describes “what has happened”. So, the picture of poetry is more relatable and enjoyable at all times. Also, Aristo does not believe that poetry makes people sentimental or weaker. For Aristotle, true poetry is a form of tragedy. Tragedy arouses fear and pity to come to a climax and ends with the purification of those emotions; in other words, catharsis. So, poetry humanizing the reader and the spectator. Lastly, Aristotle thinks that the number one intention of poetry is to evoke feelings, but while doing so it also educates the spectator. Poetry teaches moral lessons and shows growing emotionally.

To conclude, fundamentally, Aristotle’s and Plato’s views on mimesis go parallels with each other. Both believe that mimesis is the imitation of nature. However, if we were to dig deeper, Aristotle’s and Plato’s beliefs differ from one another; Plato states that imitation of art is an illusion, not reality. Also, he thinks art, meaning poetry, makes people unstable by unleashing their weaker part and he tells that poetry depicts gods inappropriately. On the contrary, Aristotle thinks that poetry is healthy for the audience because it produces catharsis and it teaches moral lessons, and supports emotional growth.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Britannica, Encyclopædia. “Ideal Type.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/ideal-type.

Sachs, Joe. “Aristotle: Poetics.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2017, iep.utm.edu/aris-poe/.

Pappas, Nickolas. “Plato's Aesthetics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 22 June 2020, plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-aesthetics/.

Lindberger, H. (1985), MIMESIS in Contemporary Theory (V.I) John Bunyamın Pub.                                                                           Company New York

Britannica, Encyclopædia. “Mimesis.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2011, www.britannica.com/art/mimesis.