Plato's Theory of Art as Imitation of an Imitation

Introduction

Every person has at some point viewed art that is little more than an imitation: works that depict scenes from daily life, portraits, still life scenes, or landscapes. Even when art becomes imbued with emotional intensity or is executed with great skill — elevating the senses to appreciation, awe, and wonder — it is still little more than entertainment. Plato considered art in this way: as something frivolous at best and, at worst, even dangerous due to its ability to distract the mind from what is true and real ("Plato," n.d.). According to Plato, beauty can only be located in the truth. Art can lead a person to contemplate and appreciate aesthetic beauty, but it can never lead that person to truth.

Furthermore, art is defined by its being created by human beings. Human beings already have a distorted sense of reality. In Plato's Republic, the philosopher presents his concept of the Forms. Using the allegory of the cave, Plato shows how the majority of what the human mind perceives is a distortion of reality. The allegory features a group of people in a cave who become fascinated by the shadows dancing on the wall instead of venturing outside to discover their source: sunlight refracting off physical objects. A person who does leave the cave to perceive the truth may be ostracized from society, but at least that person possesses great power in knowing the truth about reality.

Using this same analogy of the cave and the shadows cast by sunlight, art would be like cave drawings. Plato wants his audience to understand that art is an imitation of an imitation. Like the child's game of telephone, the root message becomes distorted when filtered through successive layers of consciousness. Plato believes in the existence of an absolute truth independent of the human mind and suggests that the human mind mistakes illusion for reality. Becoming overly absorbed in aesthetics can lead a mind astray from the core goal of philosophy: discerning the truth.

For Plato, the job of the philosopher is to venture outside of the cave. Doing so means sacrificing the shared reality of the shadows on the wall in favor of knowing the truth. Plato therefore assumes an antagonistic stance toward art. Anything that comes between a person and the truth is akin to lying, which makes it unethical. In Plato's worldview, art can thus be seen as unethical given that it is an imitation of an imitation. Plato disregards other aspects of artistic expression, such as the inherent value of art, art for art's sake, or the sheer pleasure that art can provide to both the artist and the audience.

Yet there is no evidence that conceptual art existed at all in Plato's time. If all art is merely imitative, then it could be argued that it leads the mind away from more intellectually fruitful activities, such as seeking the truth. Plato had not begun to consider the role that aesthetics or art can play in alternative epistemological frameworks. Using Plato's cave allegory, however, one can imagine a philosopher who wishes to enlighten the cave's inhabitants returning and using art to depict the entire situation: the existence of the sun, the way light creates shadows, and the fact that the world outside the cave is more real than the dancing shadows on the wall. Plato also did not consider the multiple media of art, or the fact that literature, poetry, and music, as well as the visual arts, can all lead a person toward the truth. Especially since art can serve as a means to subvert rigid social norms and irrational political structures, Plato might come to view art in a more positive light. Some art will always remain an imitation of an imitation, but when art becomes politically aware and rendered in the service of truth, it would conform more closely to Plato's lofty philosophical standards. Within the Greek philosopher's limited perspective of art and of art's role in society, however, Plato did believe that art is nothing more than an imitation of an imitation.

The Allegory of the Cave and the Theory of Forms

To properly understand Plato's philosophy of art as an imitation of an imitation, it is essential to review the allegory of the cave and the corresponding theory of Forms. In Plato's Republic, a group of people are held prisoner in a cave. All they know of reality consists of what they see in the dim light of that cave. They see shadows dancing on the walls and do not realize that those shadows are not actual objects. Stuck in a child's mentality, the prisoners never realize that there is a whole world outside. They also do not realize that it is the sun which casts the shadows as light refracts off objects in the world beyond.

Using this allegory, Plato suggests that most human beings are prisoners like those in the story. Until a philosopher or truth-seeker breaks the bonds of mental imprisonment by exiting the cave, all people remain mired in darkness and ignorance. Not knowing the truth is not evil in itself, but it is certainly factually wrong. Plato is therefore fundamentally concerned with truth.

Given Plato's philosophical commitment to truth as the ultimate goal of intellectual activity, it makes sense that he would criticize any mindset that mistakes the shadows on the wall for reality. It likewise stands to reason that he would criticize any attempt to pass off imitations of those shadows. Art within the cave is nothing more than an imitation of the shadows on the wall. It can distract the prisoners and prevent them from venturing outside, which makes art seem like an obstruction of the truth.

Of course, Plato does not acknowledge that it is imprisonment itself that is the real problem preventing the people from discerning the truth. Yet his point is not to make a political statement about freedom but to show that art is a futile endeavor unless it can be shown to enlighten or to bring a person to the truth. If Plato had known that some art does indeed have the capacity to shed light on hidden truths lying outside of the cave, the philosopher might have developed a more sympathetic view toward art.

Art as Imitation in Ancient Greece

In ancient Greece, the arts did flourish. Artistic renditions of the human form and of historical events continue to capture audiences thousands of years later. As aesthetically pleasing as ancient Greek art is and was, it did not serve the political function that art serves in a postmodern world. Plato can therefore be easily forgiven for assuming that art is nothing but an imitation of an imitation, given the historical context of his philosophy. In Plato's time, aesthetics — beauty — was not considered part of the philosopher's realm (Pappas, 2016). Aesthetics as a branch of philosophy only emerged in the modern era. The deeper consideration of the ethical and political value of art became a hallmark of modern life, eventually leading to the concept of art for art's sake. In fact, Plato's view of art as an imitation of an imitation explains why audiences value original works of art even when a copy is nearly indistinguishable from the original (Brook, 2008). The difference between the copy and the original is that the original is the truth.

For Plato, beauty is truth and truth is beauty. Plato values beauty but values art only insofar as it is subservient to the truth. In a world in which art is not necessarily beautiful at all, art can still communicate essential Forms and ideas. Plato did not know a world in which art meant anything beyond decoration or skillful rendition. Even art that communicates lofty concepts does not necessarily lead the audience to ultimate truth.

Looking beyond the Republic and the allegory of the cave, Plato did acknowledge the potential of art and aesthetics to point toward the truth. He extolled the virtues of multiple art forms including music and poetry, and recognized the ethical value of beauty ("Plato," n.d.). When Plato claims that art is an imitation of an imitation, he warns against ignorance and illusion. Far from being a diatribe against art and aesthetics, Plato's philosophy is one that urges the artist to take responsibility for the power of creative media. Plato seemed to understand precisely the power and potential of art to serve a political purpose: to further entrench the prisoners into the illusions of the cave.

Conclusion

Plato provides a consistent and controversial theory of art. Art is an imitation of an imitation, according to the Greek philosopher. Most of what human beings think they know turns out to be but a shadow of the real truth. The unfolding of scientific knowledge and inquiry has dispelled countless illusions, just as the philosopher exposes the shadows on the wall for what they really are. While art can lead a person to contemplate and seek the truth, it can never itself constitute ultimate reality.