In Republic, Plato is quite hostile to the arts, especially poetry. His concerns can be grouped into three categories: theological, moral, and epistemological. As I suspected you might, many of you were, in turn, hostile toward Plato’s views. Here’s your chance to respond.
If you would like to write a blog entry in response to Plato, choose one of his critiques of art and do each of the following:
- Reconstruct his argument formally (e.g. his argument that guardians exposed to poetry that expresses morally wrong beliefs will be weakened by the exposure), identifying each premise along the way to the conclusion.
- Evaluate his argument. Your reconstruction should be valid. But if you are not convinced by his argument, then you do not think it is sound. So, you should explain which premise is wrong and why you believe it is wrong.
- Offer an alternative view of art.
- Finally, your blog post should also include at least one work of art (an image, which you can upload, a link to music, or lines from a poem, etc) that either represents Plato’s argument or your critique/alternative view. That is, you could include a work of art that helps Plato make his case. Or you could include a work of art that helps you make yours.
Your blog post should be between 300 and 500 words in length. This assignment asks you to be concise with your language, precise when critiquing another’s argument, and creative when you add your alternative.
Philosophy of Art 