Antique Ideas about Imitation and Perfection

The author argues that in different cultural and historical periods, relation to practices of imitation was different, and the negative perception of the simulation, which was established during the Enlightenment and which is the most common, is not something taken for granted. There is a lot of evidence that in antiquity the phenomenon of imitation was perceived not only as natural but also as bringing undoubted social beneёt. Analyzing the works of Homer, Plato, Isocrates, Plutarch and others, the article shows that for antiquity own propensity to imitate others is one of the ways to evaluate our success in moral development.

• Pronkin V.N.

• Философия. Психология

• Гуманитарные науки
• Социальные (общественные) науки