Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) famously said, “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.” Within Plato’s writings, many of the core ideas and questions in philosophical thought began, including questions about reality, knowledge, justice, virtue, and so on. Unsurprisingly, the ideas and questions became more complicated or involved over time, but the foundations were laid in ancient Greece. Whitehead’s statement appears to hold when talking about two of the key ideas in aesthetics: art and beauty. We’ll explore Plato’s theory of art next time, so we can focus on beauty here.
History of Aesthetics - Plato on Beauty
History of Aesthetics - Plato on Beauty
History of Aesthetics - Plato on Beauty
Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) famously said, “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.” Within Plato’s writings, many of the core ideas and questions in philosophical thought began, including questions about reality, knowledge, justice, virtue, and so on. Unsurprisingly, the ideas and questions became more complicated or involved over time, but the foundations were laid in ancient Greece. Whitehead’s statement appears to hold when talking about two of the key ideas in aesthetics: art and beauty. We’ll explore Plato’s theory of art next time, so we can focus on beauty here.