Notebook #8

The Case Against the Arts from Plato to Tolstoy and its Implications for Why and How the Arts

Should be Taught in Schools​ by Nicholas Tate

I wasn’t able to find clear articles that were against the arts, so I focused on other

people’s arguments that included perspectives from the opposing side, despite being for my

topic overall. The source I chose is a scholarly article that has been peer reviewed. Mr.Tate

brings up Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Rosseau, and Tolstoy about “potentially negative impact of

the arts. The recurring message has been that the arts can warp judgment, elevate emotion at

the expense of reason, distract people from attending to their own lives, diminish autonomy and

authenticity, and create a damaging culture of fame” (1). Focusing solely on the excerpts from

these figure heads, their arguments appeal to the notion that because the arts are more

emotional based and evoke feelings, they can be considered dangerous as reason leaves the

mind. Especially with art pieces that convey a subject that’s psychologically worrying like

Matisse’s Le Bonheur de Vivre.

However, I think it’s a little incredulous that this argument exists. I am not a big fan of

censorship or iconoclasm, especially when you’re an adult. Being able to experience freely

should be a human right. The choice to see, interpret, and perceive the world should be a

response that we make, not by the hands of a third party. In a way, by being able to understand

all aspects of a subject matter, even the perspectives that are disturbing or brutal, you’re able to

gain a better sense of the meaning and all the arguments and point of views that encompass it.

If we consider Matisse’s work for example, it’s sensual and vulgar, yet, if we indulge in the

meaning behind the work, we realize how daring Matisse is. During a time of more sheltered
and classic pieces of art, Matisse pushed the boundaries to produce a more radical form of art,

something that had never been done in order to forward the art world. And as we continue to

push these boundaries, we are able to produce new ideas in a time of stagnation.

Plato expressed the most backlash towards the arts. He believed that, “Beautiful art

works were as nothing beside the ‘Idea of Beauty’ (3). As a scientist that based his arguments

off clear investigation and observation, he rarely thought art was above a surface level of

thinking. Which is confusing coming from one of the greatest philosophers. Plato was able to

contemplate the nature of reality, and that’s also what defines the visual arts. Art toes a line

between reality, dreams, and true interpretations. Every aspect of an art piece is based on the

artists’ choice and can house many hidden meanings up to the audience to reveal. Plato praised

finding truth, yet, art is also truthful and thoughtful, even backing up his arguments of separate

realities. To think of art as just a ‘beautiful piece’ merely stops it from being something greater.

The cumulated research gathered by Mr.Tate provides an interesting debate between

the function of art and it’s true nature. It also delves into how far censorship can extend too and

the idea of ‘bad art.’