Ontology and the Art of Tragedy: An Approach to Aristotle's Poetics (S U N Y Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy)

Ontology and the Art of Tragedy is a sustained reflection on the principles and criteria from which to guide one's approach to Aristotle's Poetics. Its scope is twofold: historical and systematic. In its historical aspect it develops an approach to Aristotle's Poetics, which brings his distinctive philosophy of being to bear on the reception of this text. In its systematic aspect it relates Aristotle's theory of art to the perennial desiderata of any theory of art, and particularly to Kandinsky's. Historical And Systematic In Scope. In The Systematic Aspect It Realates Aristotle's Theory Of Art To The Perennial Desiderta Of Any Theory Of Art, Particularly That Of Kandinsky. Approach To The Corpus As A Whole -- The Systematic, The Chronological, The Aporetic Approach -- The Pervasive Substantive-methodological Conceptual Constants -- The Concept Of Being -- The Categories Of Being -- The Categorial Priority Of Ousia -- Immanent Causal Form-matter Constitution In The Category Of Ousia -- The Ontological And Cognitive Priority Of The Object -- Approach To The Poetics -- The Poetics As A Special Science -- Techne-physis (mimesis 1) -- Artistic Techne (mimesis 2) -- Poetical Techne, Tragic Techne -- Tragedy As An Ousia -- Levels Within The Poetics -- The First Level: Being -- The Categories Of Being -- The Categorial Priority Of Ousia -- Immanent Causal Form-matter Constitution In The Category Of Ousia -- The Ontological And Cognitive Priority Of The Object -- The Second And Third Levels: Mimesis 1 And Mimesis 2 -- The Aporia Of Mimesis And Aristotle's Solution -- Liberties Art May Not Take -- Liberties Art May Take -- Liberties Art Must Take -- Agent-centering, Patient-centering, Object-centering -- Agent-centering And Object-centering -- Agent-centering -- Object-centering -- Comparison Of Ethical And Tragic Action -- Patient-centering And Object-centering -- Patient-centering -- Comparison Of Rhetorical And Tragic Action -- Textual Evidence. Martha Husain. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 135-138) And Indexes. Argues for a reading of the Poetics in light of the Metaphysics.