Plato and aristotle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Plato and aristotle - Essay Example If one tries to duplicate something, one moves away from perceiving the ideal form. Hence, writing, according to Plato implies attempting to duplicate the memory because one has to rely on the outside source and this drifts one away from the truth. He states that wisdom comes from the inner self and when one tries to put it in writing, memory plays a role and hence it is not the truth. The authors have not experienced all they write about. This claim of Plato is also clearly visible in The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. Chopin wrote a lot of fiction and she interacted with different cultures. Although she tried to represent life as it is actually lived, ultimately it sprang from her memory and in the words of Plato, this drifts one away from the truth. Chopin lost her husband at a very young age and hence it would appear that she lives in the hope that one day she too would encounter something like Mrs. Mallard did. Perhaps it is her innermost feelings that are expressed through this story and hence Plato’s claim that authors try to duplicate the memory is justified. Chopin has not experienced something like this so can she with authority describe the feelings. Fiction is a fragment of the mind and hence not an experience which an author can write about with authority. Based on your own experience of literature or other arts, how would you understand the meaning of katharis? When you experience art or literature, do you feel purged of emotions, or do you feel emotions in a purified way, or do you see or understand them more clearly? More generally, do you think the emotional experiences literature or art create are beneficial? Or do you think (perhaps like Plato) that they are not beneficial, perhaps even harmful? The emotions that come up with the experience of art and literature are momentary. Katharsis implies purging of emotions never to return. Once the mind and soul is cleared of such thoughts, once the emotions have been