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Summary Ancient Philosophical Influences Revision
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Ancient Philosophical Influences RevisionPLATO
Plato suggests that there is something permanent beyond the physical realm of observable
change, in which we can gain true and certain knowledge. Plato was deeply influenced by
Pthyagoras stating that there is an unseen realm of eternal truths which underpins and
explains the realm of the senses. Plato suggests that the world we live in is a world of
appearances, but that true knowledge of the real world of ideas, which he calls the ‘forms’.
For plato, neither the person nor the statue can be perfectly beautiful. They will have
factors which share in the concept of beauty with other beautidul things, but it is the
ultimate standard of beauty by which we judge a beautiful and this is the idea, the form of
the beauty.
The world in which we live is merely a ‘sensible’ realm- a world in which we perceive by our
senses. The sensible realm is not rwality – it is mreley a shadowy reflection of the perfect
world in the Realm of the forms. We live in a world of flase appearanvces. Everything we
perceive is encountered by our senses and these will cjange, develop and die. However,
what makes something whit it is belongs to our knowledge of it in Realm of the forms.
Objects ‘partcipate in’ or ‘reflect’ the Forms. Howeever, Platos argument is that we must
have prior knowledge of what a dog is, so the form of a dog must exist somewhere- and for
Plato that existence is in the world of the forms. The forms are unchanging, hence they will
always be our reference point for true knowledge of our earthly senses. Our learning is quite
simply remembering the knowledge gained by our immortal soul when in the Realm of the
Forms. Although nothing is our world reflects the perfect version of the forms, they are
present in all things, for example the true form of beauty is presented in a beautidul flower.
Plato was a dualist – he distinguishes between body and soul
He holds the firm belief that we all have immortal souls These immortal souls belong to the
world of the forms before being born into a physical body and placed in the physical realm.
The soul, when in body, has vague recolections of the true world of the forms from its
experience before personhood. This is the reason why young children can have basic
knowledge of concepts such as truth, beauty, justice etc without ever being taught them.
In the realm of the forms the most important realm is the form of the good. Ideal forms all
have one thing in common, which is that they all have the prescence of good in them. Plato
states that all forms stem from the form of the good abnd that this form sustains them all. It
is said that the form of the Good “illuminates” the other forms; it enables us to gain
knowledge of them, and without the form of the good we have no knowledge of anything.
For Plato, this form is seen to be the ultimate object of enquiry and is far superior to all
other forms in terms of reality and perfection.
Platos analogy emphasises of the cave emphasises the difference between the appearance
of the world and the reality behind the appearance. The prisoners knowledge is based
exclusively on their sense of sight and sound and, as this is all they have ever known to be
true , they accept it without question. Platos analogy teaches that empirical knowledge is
flawed. It does not show the true reality of things – appearances can be decepti
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