Plato vs. Aristotle's Ideas on Poets

In the Republic by Plato, he makes a harsh case against the poets of his time. Aristotle on the other hand in his written work called the poetics, makes a case for the poets and why they are a benefit to society. In Plato’s eyes poetry corrupts individuals of a society. In the Republic he states, “There is an old quarrel between philosophy and poetry” (607b). It makes them believe things that aren’t necessarily true. Although he concluded that Homer helped to shape Greece and its society, he believes Homer is a harm to the people as well. He states, “Praisers of Homer who say that this poet educated Greece, and that in the management and education of human affairs it is worthwhile to take him up for study and for living, by arranging one's whole life according to this poet” (606e).

Plato’s Republic Book II focuses on Socrates’ Principle of Specialization. Glaucon and Ademinatus to define justice in society put Socrates to a challenge. The critique of poetry arises from Socrates trying to decide how the children of his ideal society should be educated. Socrates deemed that poets like Homer for example wrote about behaviors that were meant to be ideal for individuals in a society, but Socrates did not believed these were always the best way to behave or act. Since young people are naïve and do not have a lot of wisdom yet, they do not know what is true and false or what the difference between right and wrong is so, they must be taught these values at a young age. Therefore, they can only hear stories that promote good behaviors because it is hard to change an individual’s idea of something once it has been engrained in their minds at a young age to be true.

Socrates though that God needs to be portrayed in a light that...

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...e scene, as far as possible, before his eyes. In this way, seeing everything with the utmost vividness, as if he were a spectator of the action, he will discover what is in keeping with it, and be most unlikely to overlook inconsistencies (Book XVII).

If poets do this, then they can more easily figure out how to make the work come together and create unity in the final product.

In contrast to Plato, Aristotle believed poetry was good because it imitates human actions. Plato believed that poets did not know the real world, that instead they just falsified events and made up whatever they wanted. Aristotle on the other hand, thought that this imitation to be a good thing and that it was a good way to interact with the audience. He thought we learn more from imitating others. Humans generally imitate others or try to be or emulate someone else they admire.