The Republic, Book X: Plato

Blog Prompt:

• Plato’s concept of “forms” or “ideas” is introduced beginning at paragraph 16. What is the difference between “beds in the world” and “the idea of a bed.” Where does “art” fit into his hierarchical scheme of reality?
• Plato criticizes art for being “deceptive.” How does art deceive us, according to Plato? Do you agree with this criticism?

The difference between “beds of the world” and “the idea of the bed” is, there is only one original idea and form of the bed, created by god, and all the other beds of the world are imitations of that original idea. Plato describes god as, “One who is the maker of all the works of all other workmen…For this is he who is able to make not only vessels of every kind, but plants and animals, himself and all other things” (Republic 25-27). Here Plato states his belief that god created every single idea and he goes on to state that god made the first actual object of everything as well. All subsequent beds and other items are imitations created by carpenters and makers; the idea is no longer a new one, as god already created the first and most perfect one. Therefore, a maker makes a form from an idea, but does not make the idea himself.

Pluto creates a line of succession from the initial item and idea, created by god, to the carpenter or maker who makes an imitation of the original form, and third to the artist who creates an illusion of the item. He claims that since the artist is merely painting the appearance of the item, going solely off what he perceives of the exterior of the item, he is not making an item itself. So, to recap, god creates the idea and the first form, the carpenter makes an imitation of the form, and the artist merely records the appearance of the form; “and the [artist] is an imitator, and therefore, like all other imitators, he is thrice removed from the king and from the truth” (Republic 69).

According to Pluto, art is deceptive in that it does no good for humanity as a whole since it is not based in truth and is misleading. For example, Plato claims that no artist or poet can know all about what he is painting or saying; if he is painting a carpenter, he is only capturing the carpenter’s appearance but personally knows nothing of the carpenter’s trade. The same is to be said of the poet, he may tell tales of brave heroes who are triumphant in battle, honorable leaders, and wise political figures, but may know nothing of any of those trades himself. “Then the imitator, I said, is a long way off the truth, and can do all things because he lightly touches on a small part of them, and that part an image” (Republic 79).

I do not agree with Plato’s assessment of the deception of art. I do not disagree with his logic, however I disagree with his focus. What is the point of art? Is it solely to educate, is it for the benefit of everyone, or is it personal expression that is then shared? In Plato’s time, the art was much more realistic as a whole. It depicted daily scenes, focused on realism in sculpture, and told stories. In that context I suppose there is more validity in his argument, perhaps the art was used for a more educational purpose, but people are not cattle, we interpret and extrapolate from art. How could an artist ever not capture just the appearance of a subject, even if the artist is an expert on what he is painting (i.e. a master carpenter painting another carpenter at work)? Art was an important element in the evolution of human development, and arguably, there would not have been the creation of philosophy without art. As humans evolved and began to group together into townships and create cities, their art also evolved simultaneously with the creation of written word and eventually literature, beginning in Mesopotamia and spreading around the Mediterranean, Africa, and Europe. Greece went through a dark period but at the beginning of the Archaic Age starting in 800 B.C.E. there was a massive cultural boom which heralded the further development of political systems, art, architecture, lyrical and epic poetry, and for the first time, formal philosophy. Arguably, the invention of art and literature were among the most important in the creation of civilization, and without them, formal philosophy would never have developed. I think that art always has been and always will be an important asset to humanity, and should not be undervalued.