(Gk., imitation) A key concept in Plato's troubled relationship with artistic activity. The artist who produces imitations of things seems to be some kind of deceiver; at best concerned only to represent appearances and not reality itself (Republic, Bk. x). The artist is therefore a collaborator in eikasia : things are already imitations of their forms, and imitations of imitations take us a long way from knowledge. Plato did not assign the artist a significant role in taking us towards acquaintance with the form of beauty, or beauty itself.
Philosophy dictionary. Academic. 2011.