Images of excellence : Plato's critique of the arts /
Plato was the first great figure in Western philosophy to assess the value of the arts; he famously argued in the Republic that traditionally accepted forms of poetry, drama, and music are unsound, claiming they are conducive to warped ethical standards, detrimental to the psyche, and purveyors of i...
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| Online Access: |
Full text (MCPHS users only) |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford : New York :
Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press,
1995
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| Subjects: | |
| Local Note: | ProQuest Ebook Central |
| Summary: | Plato was the first great figure in Western philosophy to assess the value of the arts; he famously argued in the Republic that traditionally accepted forms of poetry, drama, and music are unsound, claiming they are conducive to warped ethical standards, detrimental to the psyche, and purveyors of illusions about important matters in human life. This view has been widely rejected; but Christopher Janaway here argues that Plato's hostile case is a more coherent and a more profound challenge to the arts than has sometimes been supposed. Denying that Plato advocates 'good art' in any modern sense, this book seeks both to understand Plato's critique in the context of his own philosophy and to locate him in today's philosophy of art, showing how issues in aesthetics arise from responses to his charges. Plato's questions about beauty, emotion, representation, ethical knowledge, artistic autonomy, and censorship are of contemporary relevance as formerly secure assumptions about the value of art and the aesthetic come under scrutiny. Images of Excellence is written not only for readers working in ancient philosophy, but for all who are interested in aesthetics, art theory, and literary theory. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (viii, 226 pages) : illustrations |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 204-211) and indexes. |
| ISBN: | 9780198240075 0198240074 9780191597800 0191597805 |
| Source of Description, Etc. Note: | Print version record. |
