La presunta dimensione conoscitiva della mimesis aristotelica: un lungo equivoco

The article reconsiders the debated question whether or not mimēsis has a cognitive dimension in Aristotle’s Poetics. The negative answer is argued through the re-discussion of the passages on which the "cognitive" thesis is based: Poetics 4, Poetics 9 and the recurrent expression "according to verisimilitude or necessity". What emerges is that mathēsis, as mentioned by Aristotle, is not in direct relation with the causes or with the functions of the artistic or literary work, but only designates the serious and complex interpretative operation required by the fruition. The greater universality of poetry compared to history, in turn, has nothing to do with "the universals" in the philosophical sense and refers, instead, to the universal character of the events narrated, whose universality is based on the emotional dimension. Finally, the rational structure of the plot due to its organization according to verisimilitude or necessity is not a logical structure aimed at conveying knowledge, but rather a semiotic structure that has, on the contrary, a purely aesthetic and emotional purpose. In a broader perspective, the "cognitive" interpretation of Aristotelian mimēsis is the expression of a prejudice determined by the «ancient discord between philosophy and poetry», whereby philosophy makes violence to the radical alterity of art’s vision of the world, in an attempt to conform it to its own totalizing project of reality. Key-words: Mimesis; Aristotle; Poetics; knowledge; mathesis. 1 Ricercatore presso la Freie Universität Berlin. E-mail: federico.disanto84@gmail.com. federico di santo | la presunta dimensione cognoscitiva della mimesis aristotelica limiar | volume 6 | número 11 | 1. semestre 2019 | 4 «Sovrastoriche» chiamo le potenze che distolgono lo sguardo dal divenire, volgendolo a ciò che dà all’esistenza il carattere dell’eterno e dell’immutabile, all’arte e alla religione. La scienza [...] in quella forza, in queste potenze vede potenze e forze avverse. (F. Nietzsche, Sull’utilità e il danno della storia per la vita)