Plato’s Theory of Forms
Term paper Plato’s theory of forms
“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 “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 like good, justice ,beauty ,love etc has an ideal form according to plato.This form exist outside of space and time.This form remains permanent and is real.All that we see around us with human eye is just the fleeting image of reality.This world of our senses fluctuates but the real world does not.
In his text he uses three images to explain us his forms.He uses the simile of a sun ,a line and a cave.Just as in our world of senses sun is the source of growth and light ,which gives visibility to our eyes and the objects around us in a similar way,the ideas or the forms are the source of truth and reality which provides intelligibility to the objects of thought and the power of knowing to the mind.So,we can say that here plato tell us that the form gives us the ultimate standard by which we can know reality.
In his another analogy of the cave,where he places all these prisoners who are chained in such a way that they cannot move their heads and they believe that the shadows which appears on the wall in front of them because of the fire behind them are real,but it is only when someone who frees himself from the chains comes to know that the shadows is because of the fire and when he goes out in open he further comes to know what the real world is.This analogy explains plato’s forms in a very systematic way.The people in the cave are we people who live in the world and take material objects around us to be
“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 “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 like good, justice ,beauty ,love etc has an ideal form according to plato.This form exist outside of space and time.This form remains permanent and is real.All that we see around us with human eye is just the fleeting image of reality.This world of our senses fluctuates but the real world does not.
In his text he uses three images to explain us his forms.He uses the simile of a sun ,a line and a cave.Just as in our world of senses sun is the source of growth and light ,which gives visibility to our eyes and the objects around us in a similar way,the ideas or the forms are the source of truth and reality which provides intelligibility to the objects of thought and the power of knowing to the mind.So,we can say that here plato tell us that the form gives us the ultimate standard by which we can know reality.
In his another analogy of the cave,where he places all these prisoners who are chained in such a way that they cannot move their heads and they believe that the shadows which appears on the wall in front of them because of the fire behind them are real,but it is only when someone who frees himself from the chains comes to know that the shadows is because of the fire and when he goes out in open he further comes to know what the real world is.This analogy explains plato’s forms in a very systematic way.The people in the cave are we people who live in the world and take material objects around us to be