The end of art debate

pp. 1-8

in: Stephen Snyder, End-of-art philosophy in Hegel, Nietzsche and Danto, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018

Abstract

This chapter offers an introduction to the end-of-art topic, beginning with the ancient quarrel between philosophy and poetry that Plato refers to in the final chapter of Republic. Snyder explains how a resolution to Plato's criticism of poetry is found in the defense Aristotle proposes in Poetics. This contrast sets the stage for a broader discussion of the end-of-art topic. Snyder asks, if the artist transforms some aspect of what is perceived, is it through sheer deception, as Plato asserts, or is information transferred, as Aristotle claims? The answer to this question, Snyder argues, opens up two positions: art understood as the "other of reason", or as a medium with the aesthetic power to transform the chaos of sensible input into a coherent unity.