Response to Jacob Wheeler's post on 9/18/11 at 3:04pm

Plato's view of art, as we've discussed in class, is faulty at best, yet extremely intellectually intriguing. I personally don't agree with his views, being an artist myself and therefore very appreciative of unique, original works. Putting my discriminations aside, I would have to say that Plato's theory is a model of steps. As Jacob mentioned, poetry - one of the forms of art Plato mentions often in The Republic - is "thrice removed" from the realm of truth. The realm of truth, in this situation, is what we've learned to affectionately call the world of forms. Forms, in Plato's model, are the gods' creative ideas that become the blueprints of everything physical on the Earth. One main barrier between the world of forms and the Earth is that everything in the world of forms is true - perfect, eternal, and true. On Earth, however, everything is physically existing, therefore not eternal nor perfect. Truth also doesn't exist on Earth, in Plato's argument, however truth is used in place of the word "original". This is because Plato believes everything is modeled after the gods' forms, and therefore imitates its form. Art, however, is further removed from the world of forms because art - like poetry and visual art - imitates something that exists on Earth, which happens to imitate its own form. This is why Plato says art is the imitation of the imitation. In regards to what Jacob called "its [art's] potential dissemination in the utility thereof", I think Plato has an obscured vision of art. Although we've already concluded that Plato was very backstabbing to his own opinions between The Republic and The Symposium, I still think he was too carried away to place artists in a further place from truth than craftspersons, and I'm sure today's society would agree with me. Art is a staple for learning and enhancing creativity, and arguably holds more intellectual value than anything produced by a craftsperson.

Enough rambling from me, I'd like to hear from my peers; Which do you think is more intellectually stimulating and valuable; the works of a craftsperson or the works of an artist?