Plato’s Theory of Forms

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Plato’s theory of Forms Rationalism is the theory that the exercise of reason- rather than experience, authority, or spiritual revelation- provides the primary basis for knowledge. According to Plato, the body is the physical component of each person, trapped in a constant state of flux. The mind possesses the ability and will to achieve an awareness of the realm of ideal forms – the outside world in the Allegory of the Cave. Duality refers to Plato’s belief that the body and mind exist separately and are independent of each other. The body and mind are often in opposition. The mind wants to gain real knowledge of the true forms; the body is interested in empirical pleasures and needs – it “takes away from us the power of thinking at all.” This way of thinking is reflected in the way we speak of our bodies. We say: “I have a body” not “I am a body.” This suggests that the real person is distinct from the body it inhibits. For Plato, the soul is the directing force of the body. Plato compares this with a charioteer - the soul tries to guide the mind and body together like two horses rather than allowing them to contradict and be pulled in opposite directions. Most people never achieve this direction and allow their lives to be dominated by physical needs and sense pleasures. Plato postulated that the soul is divided into three parts; reason, emotion and desire. The soul is immortal and can exist in the spiritual realm. It is unchanging thus pre-exists the body and cannot die. Plato states that our perception of reality is not what reality is indeed. He believes that every object in this world, animate or otherwise, is a copy or a ‘shadow’ of a Form. This term comes from his theory of the World of Forms, which suggests that there is a perfect world unaffected by time and space, of which every object in our world, or our perception of reality, is an imperfect copy.
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