Aristotle on Pictures of Ignoble Animals

Autor/in	Socher, David
Titel	Aristotle on Pictures of Ignoble Animals
Quelle	In: Journal of Aesthetic Education, 39 (2005) 2, S.27-32 (6 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0021-8510
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Classics (Literature); Portraiture; Aesthetics + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Abbildung; Ästhetik
Abstract	Noting that the "Poetics" is a widely read, accessible classic, the author points to a minor flaw of some interest. In a well-known passage early in the "Poetics," Aristotle is in error about pictures. The matter is significant to both the theory of pictures and to Aristotle scholarship. The author sets out Aristotle's position as follows: (1) It is natural to delight in imitation. (2) In spite of it being unpleasant to look at a low animal, we delight in looking at an imitation of one--a picture. (3) The pleasure in appreciating a picture comes from gathering the meaning, that is, recognizing the subject. (4) Therefore, if I look at a portrait of someone I don't know, I can't enjoy the imitation as such, because I don't recognize the person. (5) And therefore if I do take pleasure in such a picture, it is not pleasure in the imitation as such but perhaps in the color, line, form, etc. The author's dispute is with points 4 and 5. Points 1-3 take for granted something that points 4-5 overlook and, in effect, deny--that is, that imitation comes in two levels: imitation of a kind and imitation of an individual. Aristotle illicitly slips from the first level to the second. The beginning of the passage concerns imitations of, and fidelity to, a kind; the end concerns imitations of and fidelity to an individual. (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10