For over two thousand years, various philosophers have questioned the influence of art in our society. They used abstract reasoning, human emotions and logic to go beyond this world in search of answers about the existence of the arts. For philosophers, art was not seen for its beauty, but rather for the question of how art and artists can help make our society more stable for the next generation. Plato, a Greek philosopher who lived in Athens between 420 and 348 BC, and Aristotle, a student of Plato who opposed his beliefs, have no exceptions to the steps they had to take to understand the purpose of art and artists . Although these two philosophers made wonderful discoveries about the existence of art, artists, and aesthetic experience, Plato made his works more controversial than Aristotle. During ancient times in Greece, Plato was the first human to document and criticize the existence of art and aesthetic experience. artists. He said that human art has always been a form of representation of something else. In one of Plato's famous works, he demonstrates the idea of ​​art as an “imitation of nature” (Blocker 3). In other words, the purpose of art was to represent nature and nothing else. Art was not created for its own sake or to appreciate its own beauty in any way. Instead, art, usually in the form of writings, paintings, or sculptures, was created only to represent nature, gods, emperors, families, or other notable individuals. Furthermore, Plato had a very critical view towards the existence of art in our society because art makes us more emotional and our emotions lead to many mistakes about life. He believed that it was our rational thinking, not our emotions or our senses, that helped us achieve knowledge ...... middle of paper ...... that is beyond the understanding of ordinary people. However, in some ways Aristotle did a better job than Plato. As a result, his ideas will continue to exist in this world for generations to come. Works Cited Blocker, H. Gene. and Jennifer M. Jeffers. Contextualized Aesthetics: From Plato to Lyotard.Belmont,CA: Wadsworth Pub., 1999. Print.Jones, David. "THE AESTHETICS OF ARISTOTLE." Rowan University. Ulbery Press, April 19, 2007.Web. November 17, 2011. Havelock, Eric. Views of the Republic. Standford: Brooke Spencer, January-February. 2003. PDF.Lingis, Alfonso. "Literary Reference Center - Powered by EBSCOhost." EBSCO Publishing Service selection page. Routledge, 2 February 2004. Web. 17 November 2011. Stecker, Robert. "The journal of aesthetic education." Plato's Expression on Art 26.1 (1992):1-122. Jstor. Ithaca, June 7, 1992. Web. November 17. 2011.