Introduction to Philosophy

Achieve Test Prep: Philosophy

Plato: Reality is the Eternal Realm of the Forms Plato created the idea of “Two Worlds.” In one world, the world of becoming is the world with which we are familiar—the physical world we inhabit. This world is continually changing, evolving, and disappearing. Reality is taken in through our senses due to the constant changing and it is impossible to develop any genuine knowledge of it because we can merely describe its changing nature as it appears to us. This is the world of appearance. The other world is the world of reality, which is much different. This is the world of being a realm that is eternal, unchanging, and knowable through the faculty of reason. The physical world of changing sensations is less real than the timeless world of being and it is populated by forms, which are the ideal archetypes, or essences, of everything that exists. Forms do not exist in a material sense, but they do exist independently of the minds of people. Plato believes we can discover these forms through disciplined study based on developing our ability to reason in an enlightened fashion. The ideal form is the ultimate concept of the object or idea and such a concept is defined by its boundaries. There are many different kinds of Platonic forms: geometrical, mathematical and logical relations, human virtues, sensible properties, and abstract concepts. In this sensible day-to-day world of living, we see only imperfect examples of these perfect, eternal forms and the world of our senses can never yield authentic knowledge, only unsubstantial, changeable opinions. Plato believed we develop opinions through the simple experience of living and observing the world, but these opinions reflect the transitory nature of human life and so one can never achieve the status of universal knowledge; such knowledge comes only from knowledge of the eternal forms through our ability to use our reasoning abilities. Plato’s metaphysical view enables him to achieve his epistemological goals, employing clear rational criteria to distinguish unsubstantiated and transient opinion from the eternal realm of knowledge. In The Divided Line , Plato provides a visual analogy to illustrate the levels of metaphysics and epistemology and divided them into levels. Levels C and D represent the world of appearance the visible world in which we live our lives. Despite our best efforts, the highest form of knowing that we can achieve in this world of sense of experience is opinion. This is the world of becoming, where everything is continually changing, evolving disappearing, reappearing. The lowest level of knowing and being is Level D , which is the level of illusion composed of unsubstantiated beliefs, transitory images, and fragmentary impressions that are received uncritically. The next level, which is Level C , is that of perception , which is affected by means of our five senses. Perceptions have a grounding in the actual world in which we live. We see, hear, touch, taste, and smell things on an ongoing basis and our perceptions are typically fragmentary and incomplete, thus, the conclusions that we reach based on them are typically subjective and biased. The realm of human experience where knowledge begins to exist is Level B the level of the lower forms. Lower forms are those universals that we find exemplified in our physical world. The highest realm of knowledge is that of the higher forms, Level A . Universals such as truth, beauty, good, and justice are all examples of higher forms. Like the lower forms, the

Page 49 of 125

©2017

www.achievetestprep.com

Made with FlippingBook Online document