Definition of aristotlean

(John F. Hayward, "Mimesis and Symbol in the Arts"...)

The word `` mimesis '' ( `` imitation '' ) is usually associated with Plato and Aristotle .

Aristotle also tended to stratify all aspects of human nature and activity into levels of excellence and , like Plato , he put the pure and unimpassioned intellect on the top level .

But Aristotle kept the principle of levels and even augmented it by describing in the Poetics what kinds of character and action must be imitated if the play is to be a vehicle of serious and important human truths .

For both Plato and Aristotle artistic mimesis , in_contrast_to the power of dialectic , is relatively incapable of expressing the character of fundamental reality .