Cooper, A;
(2017)
For the (Philosophical) Love of Poetic Beauty.
Philosophical Inquiry
, 41
(1)
pp. 111-126.
10.5840/philinquiry20174118.
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Abstract
It is a well-worn trope to view Plato’s banishment of the poets in Republic as a crude form of philistinism. In this paper I defend Plato against this charge. I argue that Republic does not present a final view of poetry, for it leaves room for a philosophical love of poetic beauty. First I analyse the political nature of Plato’s critique of poetry. I suggest that Plato does not reject the political order of change and decay, but opens space for a new kind of political project. I then suggest that Plato’s discussion of tragic poetry in Book X supports this claim, for it contains the hope for a reconfigured love of poetic beauty. I conclude that Plato does not limit aesthetic experience to artistic solace or metaphysical escapism, but opens a way to see aesthetic experience as a vital part of building a world in which it makes sense to live.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | For the (Philosophical) Love of Poetic Beauty |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.5840/philinquiry20174118 |
| Publisher version: | http://doi.org/10.5840/philinquiry20174118 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Plato, Republic, poetry, Nietzsche, Kaufmann, mimesis |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Philosophy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1572951 |
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