Index

Introductiono......................................................................................................................... 2

Art and Morality: (Mutual Relationship) the contribution of some philosophers: Aristotle,

Plato and Kant

Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 6

Bibliography....................................................................................................................... 7

1
Introduction

In this philosophy work, we will discuss art and morality and the contribution of
some philosophers like Aristotle, Plato, and Kant.

Art is a way for humans to express their emotions, their history, and their culture.
through some aesthetic values, such as beauty, harmony, balance. Art can be
represented in various forms, especially in music, sculpture, painting,
in cinema, in dance, among others.

After its emergence thousands of years ago, art has been evolving and occupying a
an extremely important space in society, considering that some representations of art are
indispensable for many people today, such as music, which is
able to make us happy when we are sad. It acts as a distraction
for certain problems, a way to express what we feel to the various groups of
society.

The moral is the set of beliefs and norms that guide and orient the behavior of
people, individually or in groups, in a specific society, is something like the
parameter these have to know when something is wrong or right.

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Art and Morality: (Mutual Relationship) the contribution of some philosophers:
Aristotle, Plato, and Kant.

Some philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, and Vico, establish it in a more or less
less direct the relationship between art and morality. Thus, they condemn the works of art that

consider morally reprehensible.

Plato, the first philosopher to address the aesthetic problem, says that art is the fruit of love.
what drives the soul towards immortality. To achieve it, the soul generates and procreates the beautiful,

anticipating, this time, a happy life. In the world of ideas, the soul lives happily through the
contemplation of subsisting beauty. For the attainment of happiness, in earthly life, the soul
create the beautiful through imitations of beauty.

The moral gains even greater importance due to its relationship with morality. Plato asserts
that art must be subordinated to morality. Consequently, only art should be favored.
what is useful to education. Art that fosters corruption should be condemned and excluded. For
for this reason, Plato condemns tragedy and comedy because they are forms of imitative art
which move away from the truth (the world of ideas) instead of getting closer to it.

There are three reasons that led Plato to condemn imitative arts:

They represent the gods and heroes with human passions, losing respect;
They do not express the original idea of things (it is an imperfect imitation and, therefore,
distant from the truth);
3. They are founded on feelings and not on reason. It stirs the passions, provoking the
pleasure and pain.

The only art worthy of being cultivated, in Plato's understanding, is music. This educates for the
beauty and shape the soul for inner harmony.

Still in the period of great philosophical splendor, Aristotle associated art with imitation.
From nature, however, the process of imitation must have rules against improvisation and against

the whims. Thus, it considers that tragedy is the most perfect imitation because, while
comedy is an imitation of characters inferior to tragedy and the imitation of an action
elevated and complete endowed with extension and an embellished language serves as action
in an environment of compassion and fear. The tragedy provides knowledge and the

3
Knowing is the foundation of everything, including acting well. It harms those who ignore it.

Vice is practiced out of ignorance, for when taught, men act well.
ethical criterion when men are presented, good or bad, they are distinguished by
vice and by virtue, reaching art a moral dimension like the effects in painting. The
foundation of mimetic activity, the art of imitation, and the nature of why to imitate and
natural in men and through imitation man learns and distinguishes himself from animals imitate
It is an activity and a moment that comes in nature for art. Everyone feels pleasure.
in imitations and reproductions, the pleasure of knowing is natural in man. The tragedy
that owes nothing to the irrational, and comedy, imitating men in action, allows
whether education or explanation. Aristotle says: "Tragedy represents men
superior to those of reality while comedy represents inferior men. A
comedy imitates the lower characters, not in all their vileness, but only in
part of the vice that is ridiculous. The tragedy being the imitation of better men than
it is highly recommended. Art, by imitating nature, is in tune with
the realm of ideas induces cosmic order or harmony.

Kant says, in the Critique of Practical Reason, that human reason is not only the...

the ability to know also has the ability to determine the will to act
morally. Therefore, the objective of the second critique is to study how reason
determines the will to act morally. In Observations on the Sentiment of
Beautiful and sublime, Kant attributes aesthetic adjectives to virtues. They are beautiful and attractive.

compassion and condescension (virtues present in the good-hearted man); it is

In the critique of judgment, Kant says that an object can be pleasant, beautiful, or good. Our
interest is captured by what pleases us or what is good, but not by what is beautiful. The
beautiful provides us with disinterested and free satisfaction. We do not seek pleasure
aesthetic, it happens to us unexpectedly. It is a pleasure that does not depend on our
desire. We are surprised by beautiful forms. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish the
aesthetic of the ethical, whose separation manifests through interest, absent in the former and
present in the second. However, the beautiful and the good are analogous, because:

they are grateful immediately;

are universally shareable;

4
 they are free (the will depends only on the prescriptions of reason).

A different and dissenting point of view was presented by Benedetto Croce. This
he argues that art is absolutely autonomous. In order for art to be true art, it must
to be a genuine expression of the artist's inner feelings.

According to Mondin, "to create true art one must express what is within oneself"
even" and argues that "who expresses it well is the artist. But the man and the artist
there are two different realities. To be an artist, it is enough to express one's own well.
feelings, while man must also be moral, wise, and practical. Therefore,
although not subject to morality as an artist, the artist is subject to morality as
man." As Croce asserts, "if art is below morality, it is not on this side.
not on the other side, but under your empire is the artist as a man, who to the
the duties of man must not escape, and art itself [...] must be regarded as
a mission is exercised as a priesthood.

Therefore, the morality of the artist is an immanent reality in itself, as a man. If the
an artist observing moral standards will never produce works that are susceptible to being

classified as immoral, as the work of art is the expression of the intimate feeling of
artist.

5
Conclusion

Having finished the work, we concluded that Plato says that art is the fruit of love that impels.
the soul for immortality. To achieve it, the soul generates and begets the beautiful, anticipating,
this time, the happy life. In the world of ideas, the soul lives happily through the
contemplation of the subsisting beauty. For the attainment of happiness, in earthly life, the soul
create the beautiful through imitations of beauty.

Aristotle associated art with imitation of Nature; however, the process of imitation must
about rules against improvisation and whims. Thus, it considers that tragedy is the
more perfect imitation because, while comedy is an imitation of characters inferior to
tragedy is the imitation of an elevated and complete action endowed with magnitude and a
embellished language serves as action in an environment of compassion and fear.

Kant says, in the Critique of Practical Reason, that human reason does not only have the

the ability to know also has the ability to determine the will to act
morally. Therefore, the objective of the second critique is to study how reason
determines the will to act morally. In Observations on the Feeling of
In the Beautiful and the Sublime, Kant attributes aesthetic adjectives to virtues.

6
Bibliography

GEQUE and BIRIATE, Philosophy 12th grade, Longman, Maputo, 2011;