Introduction to Philosophy

Achieve Test Prep: Philosophy

higher forms represent universals that are unchanging and eternal. The difference is that the higher forms refer to abstract ideals rather than physical objects in the world, thus wisdom is not the essence of a physical object in the world that we can experience. It (wisdom) like truth, beauty, justice, and good exists on a much higher intellectual level and understanding these ideals require a lifetime of rational exploration and reflection. In The Theory of Innate Ideas , Plato believed that genuine knowledge can only be achieved through our reasoning abilities, so he was known as a rationalist. In contrast, Aristotle believed that we can gain true knowledge through our sense experience is known as an empiricist. Rationalism is the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge or, more strongly put, it is the unique path to knowledge. Empiricism is the position that the senses and sense experience are primary in acquiring knowledge. One of the strongest arguments that rationalists advance to support their view that genuine knowledge is based on reason, not sense experience, is that humans seem to possess knowledge that could not be derived solely from our experiences in the world. In the dialogue Meno written by Plato, Socrates is discussing his belief in the immortality of the soul with his friend Meno, along with his conviction that each soul begins life with essential knowledge. Such knowledge has a latent meaning and it requires experience to activate it, but it is in no way dependent on experience for its existence and truth. We need only to remember or recollect this knowledge for it to be brought to consciousness and used by us such knowledge is considered innate because it was present at birth. Plato’s theory is that each soul existed in a perfect world before birth, where such knowledge was learned. Most philosophers as well as psychologists who believe in some sort of innate knowledge do not accept these metaphysical beliefs of Plato they believe innate knowledge is simply a part of the biological/cognitive software with which humans are programmed. In another of Plato’s writing, The Path to Knowledge of Reality: The Cave Allegory , he communicates in rich and symbolic terms about the journey through various stages of knowledge which echo the metaphysical and epistemological structure of the Divided Line Analogy. For Plato, ascending to the realm of the forms to achieve genuine knowledge is a challenging and difficult process. Most people are submerged in the shadowy world of illusion and mere opinion, completely unaware of their own lack of explanation. It is possible for people to move from ignorance to rationally-based knowledge and wisdom, but it requires willingness, dedication, and wise teachers as guides. In Plato’s allegory, it discusses discarding ignorant beliefs and embracing the truth, which can be a disturbing process as we are forced to see things objectively, illuminated as they really are rather than hidden in the shadows of bias and distortion. Plato believes that the view of knowledge has profound and far-reaching implications for education, stating, “Education is the art of turning around the knowledge of how the soul can most easily and most effectively be turned around; it is not the art of

Page 50 of 125

©2017

www.achievetestprep.com