The Dialectic of Mímesis in Aristotle's Poetics: The Relationship Between Particulars and Universals

Abstract

The model of fictional rationality that was structured from Aristotle's Poetics fixed the boundaries between history and poetry and give rise to intense debates. In this paper, I will revisit the celebrated passage of Poetics 1451b, in view of what I defined as “dialectic of mimesis”. Trough the notion of mimesis, I will try to formulate a relationship between universals and particulars that makes it possible, on the one hand, to understand the singularity of poetry and, on the other hand, to define some characteristics of poetic universality. This approach stand out the cognitive value of poetry, describe the process of fictional rationality and give a new meaning to the relationship with history.