ethics
.... Plato felt that a weakening of reality led away from knowledge and this was the most dangerous and unforgivable./ German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, author of “The Birth of Tragedy” who is famous for being arrogant, disapproves of theater in almost all circumstances. Tragedy, says Nietzsche, is the only form of theater worth watching. He also claims that good tragedy died before the end of the ancient Greek civilization. The philosopher claims that theater is a poor form of art due largely to the fact that he has nothing good to say about anything, that is except himself. Nietzsche basses his assumptions on the negative effect of theater, on the public on the simple fact that he does not like theater./ Fortunately not all philosophers hold the performance arts in such a negative light. Many scholars believe that the theater is not only a beautiful art form but is also a tool for education. Many philosophers/ teachers employ stories and drama as a means of conveying a deeper spiritual meaning to their students, and to convey life experiences. The Greek philosopher Aristotle conveys a great love for the theater in his “Poetics” written about 325 B.C.E. Aristotle is responsible for the division of theater into the categories of drama and theater as we know it today. According to the thinker plot character and theme are drama while diction music and spectacle are theater. Aristotle puts the emphasis of the importance of the performing arts on the plot as a tool to teach with. Aristotle believes that theater is a superb way of conveying life lessons, emotions, and experiences that many people would not be exposed to with out the medium. Aristotle teaches that the spectacles of theater, such as special effects of today’s cinema, are a side effect of the desire of man to learn thru the arts./ Socrates another great Greek philosopher/ teacher also believed in using stories to teach. Socrates would urge his students to question the mainstream and authority figures, often using allegories to convey on to his students a life experience or perspective that they would not have otherwise been able to become acquainted with. The teacher feels that the telling of a story is one of the bes...