On Aristotle's Inheritance and Development of Plato's Theory of Imitation

Until the beginning of modernism,the most admired quality in Western art is mimesis—objects in painting and sculpture closely resembling things in real life.Plato and Aristotle are the two main contributors in the theory of imitation,while as the most prominent student of Plato,Aristotle not only inherits but also develops Plato’s theory of imitation.Plato’s theory of imitation is deeply rooted in his theory of forms with strong political orientation.For Plato,the material world is not real but only the image,the imitation of the real;

Until the beginning of modernism, the most admired quality in Western art is mimesis——objects in painting and sculpture closely resembling things in real life. Plato and Aristotle are the two main contributors in the theory of imitation, while as the most prominent student of Plato, Aristotle not only inherits but also develops Plato＇s theory, of imitation. Plato＇s theory of imitation is deeply rooted in his theory of forms with strong political orientation. For Plato, the material world is not real but only the image, the imitation of the real; on the contrary, forms which can only be perceived by philosophers are the fundamental truth. Plato＇s Utopia consists of three ranks： governing philosophy kings with reasoning power, protective soldiers with strong will, and productive workers who only have desires. Anything hinders the governing rationality is ruinous and therefore, dangerous. This strong political orientation leads him to separate the idealized ＂truth＂ from the actual reality, and forges his speeial standard for art in the perspective of polities：