Plato’s Theory of Forms Essay - 1719 Words

Plato’s Theory of Forms Plato was born, the son of Ariston and Perictione, in about 428 BC. His family, on both sides, was among the most distinguished in Athens. He was born in Athens into a very wealthy family and as a young man was a student of Socrates. Plato is probably one of the best-known philosophers. Plato embarked on a period of extensive travel, returning to Athens some years later. In 387 BCE he established the Academy, a school devoted to philosophical debate and learning. Aristotle was a student at the Academy for about the last twenty years of Plato’s life. At the heart of all Plato’s philosophy is his Theory of Forms, sometimes called the Theory of Ideas. Plato†¦show more content†¦They know of nothing else and assume that there can never be anything beyond the shadows. The world of sense is at a constant change, so how can the truth be known if the world never stays the same from one moment to the next. Plato believed there was a certain truth, but this material world cannot answer it. The material world only presents appearances, which lead us to make opinions, not knowledge. Plato believes there is truth on a different plane, on the non-material world of forms. He alleged that in order for something to be real, it had to be permanent and unchanging. In order to see exactly what a form is and how it differs from a material object, we need to look at the first two of the properties that characterize the forms. The forms are transcendent. This means that they do not exist in space and time. A material object, a basketball, exists at a particular place at a particular time. A form, roundness, does not exist at any place or time. The forms exist, or subsist, in a different way. This is especially important because it explains why the forms are unchanging. A form such as roundness will never change; it does not even exist in time. It is the same at all times or places in which it might be instantiated. A form does not exist in space in that it can be instantiatedShow MoreRelatedPlato’s Theory of Forms2058 Words   |  9 Pages Plato’s theory of forms â€Å"Everything which exist in this world and all things that we see around us are not as they appear to us† this is the core idea behind plato’s theory of forms.From this idea only he moves towards explaining his world of forms or ideas. In his book called THE REPUBLIC he tell us that the â€Å"Good†is the end of all endeavour,it is the object on which every heart is set,so this good according to him has a form,infact all the abstract ideas likeRead MoreExplain the Criticisms of Platos Theory of the Forms.1584 Words   |  7 PagesPlatos theory of forms, also called his theory of ideas, states that there is another world, separate from the material world that we live in called the eternal world of forms. This world, to Plato, is more real than the one we live in. His theory is shown in his Allegory of the Cave (from The Republic, Book VII), where the prisoners only live in what they think is a real world, but really it is a shadow of reality. According to Plato, to the prisoners in the allegory and to humanity in the materialRead MoreOverview Of Plato And Platos Theory Of The Four Forms1896 Words   |  8 Pagesquestion has been a major topic of many philosophical discussions. This debate has caused many phi losophers to give potential answers to the problem, yet no one agrees on one idea. Of these potential answers, two well-known ones are Platos Theory of Forms and Aristotles Theory of the Four Causes.   Despite their common focus on knowledge, the two philosophers differ in their beliefs in how knowledge is obtained. Plato places a bigger emphasis on the soul being the source of true knowledge, while AristotleRead MoreDistinctions and Comparisons between Aristotle and Plato Essay1681 Words   |  7 PagesThe ideas introduced by Plato on the theory of forms, where deducted and critiqued by Aristotle. Both philosophers can be viewed as having opposing ideologies. Nonetheless, Plato and Aristotle are in agreement on certain factors of their philosophy. Many have scrutinized and compared the dissimilarities and similarities of Aristotles doctrine of categories and Platos theory of forms. The observations found are of an interesting nature. The beauty behind the writings of Plato is to not acceptRead MoreThe Main Elements Of Plato s Cave1152 Words   |  5 Pagesof life is when men are afraid of the light† – Plato In this paper the main elements of Plato’s cave will be described along with a short explanation of Plato’s theory of forms, which is what the cave allegory is attempting to address. A brief description of the plot of the movie â€Å"The Island â€Å"will follow. This will be followed by an explanation of how the movie correlates to the elements of Plato’s cave. Finally, the conclusion will discuss what Plato was hoping to achieve with the cave allegoryRead MoreThe Utopian Views Of Plato And Platos Political State741 Words   |  3 Pagesequals, contrary to Plato’s strict utopian structure and group over individual hierarchy view of the ideal state. Plato’s ideal state is strictly structured through a utopian ideal. Everything within Plato’s ideal state has a place and purpose, and everyone within it is aware of that. While the state works for the people as a whole instead of individual, Plato also proposes the idea of propaganda to mold even the lowest of his utopia into model citizens for the state. Plato’s state is the essenceRead MorePlato s Theory Of Form1111 Words   |  5 PagesPlato coined the term â€Å"Socratic questioning† to encourage the open discussion of philosophical theory for the purpose of improving said theory. Aristotle took advantage of the practice of Socratic questioning to inquire about Plato’s theory of Form and its explanation of causality in comparison to Aristotle’s own theories of causality and being. Aristotle criticizes Plato’s theory of Form because it only accounted for a one-dimensional explanation of what things are made up of and what identifi esRead MoreEssay Explain the Platonic Concept of Forms748 Words   |  3 PagesPlatonic concept of Forms. Plato believed that reality is more than what we sense around the world (e.g. taste, smell, hear, see and touch), he believed that behind these physical realities lies a perfect version of them in which he called Forms and that the greatest thing we can learn is to have knowledge and understanding of them. Plato’s theory means that what we can sense around us (for example a chair) is just a mere shadow of the perfect version which exists in the world of Forms. The perfect versionRead MoreWhat Plato Meant by the Form of the Good Essay1456 Words   |  6 PagesMeant by the Form of the Good The basis of Platos philosophy is his theory of Ideas, or doctrine of Forms while the notion of Forms is essential to Platos philosophy, over years of philosophical study, it has been difficult to understand what these Forms are supposed to be, and the purpose of their existence. When examining Platos forms and evaluating the theory, some conclusions have proved to be unclear and unanswered. However, the doctrine of Forms is essentialRead MoreAbsolute Realism Vs. Hylemorphism1309 Words   |  6 Pagesideas hold some similarities, but Aristotle is more considered as â€Å"moderate realist,† compared to Plato as an â€Å"absolute realist.† Generally speaking, Plato’s interpretation of â€Å"what is real,† reflected in his absolute realism, differs from that of Aristotle’s, reflected in his hylemorphism, to a large extent; besides, Aristotle’s theory of matter and form, is the more convincing one because of the soundness of his arguments and in-depth analysis of the nature of being. Given that Plato and Aristotle