Republic of The Philippines: Western Mindanao State University College of Liberal Arts

Republic of the Philippines
Western Mindanao State University

College of Liberal Arts
A&H 100
ARTS APPRECIATION
WMSU Lesson#5: Philosophical Perspective of Art
Anie D. Palalon
Faculty
WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

Introduction
Art Appreciation has continued to draw attention

from teachers and students in the academe to
explore points of discussion and learning. This
module underscores the philosophical
perspective on arts specifically exploring the
discussion on Art as a Imitation, as a
representation, as a disinterested judgement
and as a communication of emotion.

This discussion includes the perspective of Leo Tolstoy
as he propounds the discussion on arts as a
communication of emotion as he highlighted the
principles of universal art which him, universal art
illustrates that people are "already united in the
oneness of life's joys and sorrows by communicating
"feelings of the simplest, most everyday sort,
accessible to all people without exception, such as the
feelings of merriment, tenderness, cheerfulness,
peacefulness, and so on".
What are the two reasons on why Plato as deeply
suspicious of arts and artists? Is Aristotle, being Plato’s
most important student in Philosophy, agreed with his
teacher that art is a form of imitation? What is the
understanding of Immanuel Kant in relation to the
judgement of beauty? Is it something that can be universal
despite its subjectivity? And, how does art communicate
emotion? These questions will be explored as we progress
our understanding and discussion in this module.

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

Explain and discuss the basic philosophical perspective on art.
Apply concepts and theories on beauty and aesthetics in real
Scenarios.
Topic Outline
1. Art as imitation
2. Art as representation
3. Art as a disinterested judgment
4. Art as a communication of emotion

Try this!

1-Minute Reflection

Activity
1. You are provided with short set of questions for them
to briefly reflect on. The responses must be brief.
2. You record your answers and submit them online.

The following are the questions:
1. Is painting just an imitation of nature?
2. Can paintings represent possible version of reality?
Read and Ponder
Philosophical Perspectives on Art

I. Art as an Imitation

Plato (2000) in his masterpiece, the Republic, particularly paints a picture
of artist as imitators and art as imitation. In his description of the ideal
republic, Plato advises against the inclusion of art as a subject in the
curriculum and the banning of artist in the Republic. In Plato’s
metaphysics or view of reality, the things in this world are only copies of
the original, the external, and the true entities that can only be found in
the World of Forms. Human beings endeavour to reach the Forms all
throughout this life, starting with formal education in school. For example,
the chair that one sits on is a real chair. It is the imperfect copy of the
perfect “chair” in the World of Forms.
Much a true for “beauty” in this world. When one ascribes beauty to
another person, he refers to an imperfect beauty that participates only
the form of beauty in the World of Forms. Plato was convinced that
artists merely reinforce the belief in copies and discourage men to
reach for the real entities in the World of Forms.

Plato was deeply suspicious of arts and artists for two reasons:

1. they appeal to the emotion rather to the rational faculty of men; and

2. they imitate rather than lead one to reality. Poetry and painting, the
art forms that Plato was particularly concerned with, do not have any
place in the ideal state that Socrates in Plato’s dialogue envisions.

Plato is critical of the effects of art, specifically poetry to
the people of the ideal state. Poetry arouses emotions
and feelings and thus, clouds to the rationality of people.
Poetry has a capacity to sway minds without taking into
consideration the use of proper reason. As such, it leads
one further away from the cultivation of the intellect that
Plato campaigned for.

For Plato, art is dangerous because it provides a petty
replacement for the real entities that can be attained
through reason.
II. Art as a Representation

Aristotle, Plato’s most important student in philosophy,
agreed with his teacher that art is a form of imitation.
However, in contrast to the disgust that his master holds for
art, Aristotle considered art as an aid to philosophy in
revealing truth. The kind of imitation that art does is not
antithetical to the reaching of fundamental truths in the
world. Talking about tragedies, for example, Aristotle (1902)
in the Poetics claimed that poetry is a literary
representation in general. Akin to other art forms, poetry
only admits of an attempt to represent what things might
be.
For Aristotle, all kinds of art including poetry, music,
dance, painting, sculpture, do not aim to represent
reality as it is. What art endeavours to do is to provide
a vision of what might be or the myriad possibilities in
reality. Unlike Plato who though that art is an imitation
of another imitation, Aristotle conceived of Art as
representing possible versions of reality.

In the Aristotelian worldview, art serves two particular
purposes.

Art allows for the experience of pleasure. Experiences
that are otherwise repugnant can become entertaining
in art.

Art has an ability to be instructive and teach it
audience things about life, thus, it is cognitive as well.

III. Art as a Disinterested Judgment

Immanuel Kant considered the judgement of
beauty, the cornerstone of art, as something that
can be universal despite its subjectivity. He
mentioned that judgement of beauty, and therefore,
art, is innately autonomous from specific interests.
It is the form of art that is adjudged by one who
perceived art to be beautiful or more so, sublime.
Therefore, even aesthetics judgement for Kant is a
cognitive activity.

Kant recognized that judgement of beauty is
subjective. However, Kant advanced the
proposition that even subjective judgment is
based on some universal criterion for the
said judgement. In the process, Kant
responded to the age-old question of how
and in what sense can a judgement of
beauty, which is ordinarily is considered
objective or universal.
For Immanuel Kant, when one judges a
particular painting as beautiful, one in effect is
saying that the said painting has induced a
particular feeling of satisfaction from him and
he expects the painting to rouse the same
feeling from anyone. There is something in the
work of art that makes it capable of inciting the
same feeling of pleasure and satisfaction from
any perceiver, regardless of his condition.
IV. Art as a Communication of Emotion

Leo Tolstoy, the author of War and Peace and Anna
Karenina, has provided another perspective on
what art is. In his book, What is Art (1897), Tolstoy
defended the production of the sometimes truly
extravagant art, like operas, despite extreme
poverty in the world. For him, art plays a huge role
in communication to its audience’s emotions that
the artist previously experienced.
Art then serves as a language, a communication
device that articulates feelings and emotions that
are otherwise unavailable to the audience. In the
same way that language communicated information
to other people, art communicates emotions. In
listening to music, in watching an opera, and in
reading poems, the audience is at the receiving end
of the artist communication his feelings and
emotions.

Tolstoy is fighting for the social dimension of art. Art is the
central to man’s existence because it makes accessible
feelings and emotions of people from the past, present,
from one continent to another.

Even at present, one can commune with early Cambodians and
their struggles by visiting the Angkor Wat or can definitely feel
for early royalties of different Korean dynasties by watching
Korean dramas.
See if you can do this!

Before reading this activity, it may be reasonably assumed that you have “prior knowledge” of
each of the following topics in Philosophical Perspective on Arts:

1. Arts as a imitation
2. Art as a Representation
3. Art as a Disinterested Judgment
4. Art as a Communication of Emotion

The task that is required of you in this paper is to show how you have integrated your prior
knowledge with those learned in this course. For each topic cited above, answer the following
questions:

1. What was your prior knowledge of it? Explain briefly.
2. What was the one aspect of the knowledge gained for this course that was most in
agreement with or most similar to your knowledge of it.

Answer the question directly, clearly, and in proper order. Avoid unnecessary details. Be
creative.

THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING AND
KEEP SAFE
EVERYONE!

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Republic of the Philippines

Western Mindanao State University

WMSU Lesson#5: Philosophical Perspective of Art

WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

Art Appreciation has continued to draw attention

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