Plato

I disagree with Plato's theory of art because I think art is a very important part of life even if it keeps us from reality.
I think, for the most part, escape from reality is a good thing. Sometimes life can get so chaotic that it's hard to just enjoy it. That's why we turn to music or any other form of art, it is a way to relieve stress caused by day to day life and makes "reality" easier to handle.
I think I would go insane if I didn't have some sort of art to turn to when I had a problem, art is away to express both good or bad feelings in a healthy way.
In the reading, Plato's Attack on the Poets,  it talked about a singer who tried to make people realize their problems through singing but it only distracted the people more from their reality. When I was reading that I didn't see what was so wrong with it. It's nice to be distracted from life problems sometimes. Those people probably spent most of their lives worrying about their poverty and misery but by hearing the music they were able to, at least for a few minutes, leave that behind and just enjoy the moment.
But I do understand that to much of it can be a bad thing (when it comes to technology). Most people spend countless hours of their lives staring at some sort of screen while life passes by. This removal from reality isn't healthy. For example, some people rely on computers to do all the work for them which lowers attention span and makes them less self-sufficient. Technology also negatively effects social skills because no amount of cyber communication can replace the importance of human interaction.