Conception of Beauty and Creative Communication in Antique Philosophy

Abstract

In the paper, attention is focused on the analysis of classical philosophy, particularly on Plato’ and Aristotle’ texts; therefore, the emergence and formation of aesthetic questions in early (pre-Socratic) and late (Hellenistic) periods are also reviewed. Various communicative dimensions of beauty and art creation are highlighted; the author considers the factors that could mediate the concept of metaphysical beauty established by early Greek philosophers, discusses the role of harmony, symmetry, eurhythmy and proportions in the formation of the classical conception of beauty and establishing a communicative relation between the artwork and its perceiver. The author analyzes the concept of kalokagathia and shows how the good, beauty and truth could mutually extend and communicate through each other. The author also discusses what beauty could tell us through Erot and how a more subjective and sensual conception of beauty could be established. While analyzing the conception of art creation in Greek philosophy, the author highlights how creation could be understood as a creative process inspired by Muses or a simple imitation of the illusory world. Topics of artistic creation and communication are also analyzed from the point of view of catharsis – as soul purification of. The author highlights the formation and transformation of the concept of beauty and creative communication and shows where they are actual for contemporary aesthetics and theory of communication and how the ideas of Plato and Aristotle are interpreted in contemporary philosophy.