Plato: concept of the forms Flashcards
where do forms exist?
the realm of the forms
what are particulars?
earthly material things. pale reflections of forms.
what are forms?
realities separate from the actual object or concept which are infinitely more real than their particulars, which actually only appear to exist.
forms are behind….
every concept (e.g. beauty) and every object (e.g. a dog).
how do forms differ from particulars?
They are totally eternal, they never change (consistent)
and are unaffected by particulars (independent)
They are immaterial: this means you can never detect them with your senses.
what is phenomena?
the elements of the world that appear to us through our sense experience, including organizations such as “society”.
how did Plato respond to Heraclitus question “can you step in the same river twice”?
by saying that there are two worlds. There is the ‘real’ world of the Forms, which are perfect and unchanging, and the sensible world that we all perceive around us, which is an imperfect copy of the world of forms, an illusion
how did Plato suggest we recognized things?
Because we have an immaterial, immutable soul.
Before your soul entered your body, it had access to the Forms.
Therefore, you know about the forms on an instinctive level. You can develop this knowledge through rational thought.
what is the hierarchy of the forms?
All the forms have a fixed order of importance.
The most important form is the form of the good, which is central to the existence of the whole universe and gives all the others its nature.
what is the form of the good?
its the center of all existence. the most important form. it illuminates the other forms as it is the source of intelligibility. beauty and justice are aspects of this form. orders forms in strict hierarchy giving them there nature. it
criticism: theirs no…
empirical evidence of the existence of Forms
criticism: different individuals have different opinions on what…..
‘good’ is. This also goes for the concepts of beauty or justice.
criticism: Plato also does not specify….
where the forms end. For example, is their a Form of a cat, but then also a Form of a tabby cat or black cat as well? This could lead to an infinite regression of Forms.
criticism: If everything has a Form, then….
even unpleasant or evil forms must exist, like a Form of cancer must exist. If this is the case, then how can these things be derived from the ‘Form of the Good’?
criticism: Plato is said to underestimate…..
the attractiveness and importance of the physical world.
