Plato's three main objections to poetry are that poetry is not ethical, philosophical or pragmatic. It is not ethical because it promotes undesirable passions, it is not philosophical because it does not provide true knowledge, and it is not pragmatic because it is inferior to the practical arts and therefore has no educational value. Plato then makes a challenge to poets to defend themselves against his criticisms. Ironically it was Plato's most famous student, Aristotle, …
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…his time. While his views on censorship and poetry may even seem outlandish today, Plato's goal was to state what he judged to be the guidelines for a better human existence. The merit in Plato's arguments is demonstrated by the fact his philosophies on poetry are still studied by scholars around the world today. Bibliography Works Cited Plato. Republic. Critical Theory Since Plato, Revised Edition. Ed. Hazard Adams. Orlando, Fla: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1992. 18-38.