Imitation Game
Socrates speaks about the nature of imitation through extended metaphors in hopes of better explaining what imitation is. In one case, he compares imitation to an illusion because, like an illusion, imitation “grasps only a small part of each thing” and provides only a limited version of reality (598c). To this end, Socrates argues that this limited perception of reality is “far removed from truth” and therefore destructive in nature (598c). This interpretation of what it means to imitate furthers the idea that it is supremely better to be original than emulative; it continues the idea that humanity craves originality.
Socrates also identifies imitations as unwelcome in his carefully cultivated city. Because he fears the corruption he believes is rooted in imitation, he aims to eject poetry from his ideal society. Upon first glance, this seems out of character for Socrates, a great intellectual. It would be easy to think that he would find poetry enriching to the mind, especially the Greek epic poetry of Homer; however, this is not the case. Socrates brazenly asserts that poetry only “corrupts the mind” because it is imitative in nature (395b). He likens this to a painter who paints a couch in that a painter’s depiction is less like a couch than what a craftsman would build to be a couch. Similarly, Socrates says that poetry is farther from the truth than the actual events.This crucial metaphor reveals Socrates’ disdain for the art of imitation in all of its forms, even its creative ones. His preference of complete truth and originality again reflects the desire of man to live authentically, in an inimitable way.
The issue of noticing what is, in fact, original is another point discussed by Socrates in this argument. He comments on the inability to distinguish reality from artifice or inauthenticity as a downfall that leads many to fall into the imitation game, a game of striving for originality while falling into emulation. Socrates notes this concept through the metaphor of an encounter
between a man and another who claims he is all-knowing. In the metaphor, Socrates says that the man is naive and “has been deceived, it seems by a sorcerer or imitator, whom he therefore considers to be all-wise”(598d). Not only does Socrates call the one who claims to be all-wise an imitator or sorcerer, he also calls the one who believed the claim as having an “inability to distinguish between knowledge, lack of knowledge, and imitation” (598d). This metaphor is extended to compare to Homer and other poets in the argument of imitation in poetry.
Socrates draws this comparison to bring the truth of poetry into question. He argues against those that claim a good poet must have knowledge of what they write about. His argument lies in his idea that poetry is “easy to produce without knowledge of the truth. For they produce illusions, not things that are”(599a). In saying this, Socrates expounds on his beliefs that poetry is nothing more than mere imitation of the truth and in such can not be entirely truthful. Through the comparison he draws between this and the metaphor of the all-wise man, he masterfully adds contextual validity to his own claims by the belief that if it is true for one it must be true for the other as well. This disparages poetry as well as imitation in the general sense.
In Plato’s Republic, Socrates makes abundantly clear his disdain for the art and game of imitation. He despises it for the lack of knowledge required to both believe and be an imitator. In a similar fashion, humanity craves authenticity while discouraging imitation. It ignites a constant struggle to overcome the desire to fall in line with societal expectations and instead seek to be authentic as opposed to simply craving inimitability. Socrates knew that his ideas on imitation expanded beyond the bounds of his ideal city to also reflect the base convictions of the human soul.
with love always,
olivia combs
Here’s how I imagine Burke might respond to your post:
ReplyDeleteContrary to Socrates’ beliefs so well highlighted in your essay, I believe that imitation is not so negative of a concept. Perhaps imitation is not to be “craved” per se, but it should never be discouraged. “It is by imitation.. that we learn everything” and this knowledge is acquired “more effectually” as well as “more pleasantly” (42). Through imitation, we have formed our society and all the many facets of it. We form our personal opinions upon listening to others speaking of their own. We are taught as children manners, which are presented to us through another person and their actions. How better to learn than from an example? I truly believe that it is “one of the strongest links” of the modern world (42). I will not deny that there is beauty to be found in originality. I will, however, contest Socrates' claim that poetry is simply an- as you call it, “imitation game.” Descriptive poetry is better described as “substitution,” for “nothing is an imitation further than as it resembles some other thing” and as established through my literature, words do not resemble the ideas they are describing (137).